The Eagles kept their undefeated season alive after defeating Hope International University in three sets on Saturday. The win puts the Eagles’ overall record at 12-0.
Biola started the match on the receiving end. Sophomore outside hitter Britta Blaser made the first point of the match off of a kill.
Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Mason took advantage of a free ball that the Royals sent over the net at 5-2 Biola, and put the ball in the deep corner of the court to get a kill.
The Royals took the first timeout of the match with Biola leading at 11-7.
Mason continued to frustrate the Royals with her kills that were directed to the deep corner. The Eagles had a comfortable lead at 19-10 when Hope called their second timeout.
Junior middle blocker Amy Weststeyn and Mason were a dominant wall that frustrated Hope’s outside hitters.
Biola ended the set on top at 25-12 after a service error from the Royals.
Senior setter Nicolette Douglas was the first server for Biola in the second set. The Royals returned the serve and Douglas set up sophomore outside hitter Jocyln Kirton for the kill to put Biola on the board.
In the beginning of the second set the Royals were tied with the Eagles at 5. However, Biola was able to start pulling away because of junior defensive specialist Jaci Schork’s serving doubled with Weststeyn and Kirton’s presence on the front row.
Senior defensive specialist Emily Weingartner made a total of four aces to secure Biola’s victory in the second set 25-11.
Hope started off the third set with an ace after a miscommunication between senior libero Tara Rallis and junior defensive specialist Charley Parker for Biola. From the beginning Biola had trouble keeping the ball in a playable position and Hope lead for the first time in the match 7-2.
The Royals took advantage of the points given to them through Biola’s unforced errors and held a steady lead at 17-12 before head coach Aaron Seltzer called a timeout.
The timeout seemed to be just what Biola needed to get back in the game. The Eagles quickly closed the gap and caused the Royals to call a timeout at 17-16 Hope.
Biola was finally able to take the lead for the first time in the set at 22-20. The Eagles fought to keep the lead and won the third set 25-21.
“We were really focusing on closing out and finishing strong in practice this week,” Kirton said. “We wanted to finish the game in three sets and it’s great we accomplished that goal.”
Biola’s next match will be against Arizona Christian University on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. in Chase Gym.
