Sophomore outside hitter Joclyn Kirton goes up for a kill during the game versus San Diego Christian on October 10. Kirton led the Eagles in kills for the entire match with 14 total. | Tomber Su/THE CHIMES

Biola swept San Diego Christian College on Tuesday to ensure their 15th straight win. The win ties Biola’s best start to the season since 2008. The No. 3 Eagles are now 15-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play.

In the beginning of the first set, Biola and San Diego kept close in score with the Eagles leading 5-4.

Biola was able to pull away when sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Mason scored three kills paired with a service ace from fellow sophomore right side hitter Crissy Cunningham to put the lead at 10-5.

Sophomore outside hitter Joclyn Kirton produced three kills in a row to put Biola at 15-7. Kirton led the Eagles in kills for the entire match with 14 total.

The Eagles finished the set on top at 25-14.

SAN DIEGO PUTS UP A FIGHT

San Diego came out fighting in the second set and quickly took the lead at 5-0. Kirton ended the streak with a kill and got the serve back on the Eagles’ side.

Biola did not let San Diego’s quick start get the best of them and caught up to be behind only a point at 7-6.

After trading off positioning for a while, Mason sent the ball straight down the line to tie the game at ten.

The Eagles and the Hawks battled point by point in the second match, but Biola had yet to establish a lead and was trailing behind at 13-15.

Cunningham put Biola in the lead for the first time in the second set with a kill from the back row at 17-16. The Eagles took advantage of the lead to put more distance between the Hawks to end the second set 25-19.

BIOLA FINISHES THE THIRD ACT STRONG

The third set was a completely different story from the second set. Biola came out swinging and powered through the longer rallies to put their lead at 16-10.

“Before we went into the game we knew that we needed to keep our energy up,” Mason said. “We needed to have momentum to carry us through the plays, no matter how long they lasted.”

The Eagles finished the final set 25-12.

Biola will compete against No. 1 and undefeated Concordia University Irvine on Oct. 12 in Irvine.