DALLAS, Texas --- Biola Volleyball fell in straight sets to Nebraska-Kearney on Friday afternoon at the Dallas Classic, dropping the match 25-19, 26-24, 27-25.
The Lopers took control of the opening set and pulled away for a 25-19 win, but the Eagles responded with two tightly contested sets to close out the match. Biola and Nebraska-Kearney finished even with 44 kills apiece, while the Eagles held a 5-1 advantage in service aces.
Biola battled back from an early 3-0 deficit in the second set and eventually built a 23-20 advantage. Nebraska-Kearney answered with three-straight points to tie the frame, but
Haylee LaFontaine responded with a kill to give the Eagles set point at 24-23. The Lopers closed with three-consecutive points of their own to take the set 26-24.
The Eagles came out firing in the third. An eight-point run behind the serving of
Alex Strating turned a 7-7 tie into a 15-7 Biola lead, with Strating recording two aces during the stretch. Nebraska-Kearney worked its way back and eventually tied the set at 23-23. Biola fought off match point twice before the Lopers secured the final two points for a 27-25 win.
LaFontaine led the Eagles with 14 kills while hitting .243 and added two service aces.
Juliana Van Ommering finished with nine kills and nine digs, while
Savannah Simpson added eight kills without an attack error, hitting .364, to go with five block assists. Strating contributed six kills on a .308 hitting percentage and two aces.
Payton Tully provided a spark with four kills in her lone set of action.
Lexi Lambert dished out 21 assists and added eight digs, while
Hannah Hanson recorded 15 assists.
Sophia Knevelbaard led the Eagles defensively with 11 digs.
Biola moved to 1-2 on the season with the result and will close out the Dallas Classic on Saturday, Aug. 29 against Colorado Mesa at 10:30 a.m. PT.
