For the first time since 2011, Westmont got revenge by beating the No. 1 ranked Eagles team.

Starting Out Slow

The first time these two teams met this season on Sept. 22, Biola came out on top after five sets of solid volleyball. The Warriors finally got revenge in front of their home crowd by taking the 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 30-38) win over the Eagles. With this loss, Biola’s overall record moves to 23-3, and their Golden State Athletic Conference record drops to 12-2.

“We didn't show up ready to play at Westmont, and we started out really slow,” said Ashton Arbuthnot, senior setter. “We made a lot of unforced errors and gave away a lot of free points.”

Low Points

Certainly one of the low points of the match for the Eagles was the number of errors. Biola committed 52 total errors, including hitting, setting, blocking, serving and serve receiving, whereas Westmont only committed 35 across the same categories. That is 17 points Biola gave away for free.

One of the largest places Biola was hurt was in the serving category, as they made four more errors than Westmont, and the Warriors also got five aces compared to none for Biola.

Avoiding Getting Swept

Westmont came out firing and took the first two sets due to their great offensive effort and Biola’s errors. The third game proved much more exciting than the first two, as Westmont played consistently the whole game, giving them a 24-21 lead as they looked at possibly taking the 3-0 sweep over Biola. However, a trio of untimely Westmont errors and a kill each from freshman outside hitter Christina Denboer and senior middle blocker Alyssa Mason gave Biola the five point run they needed to avoid getting swept.

The fourth game was even more exciting, as Biola faced the same situation Westmont found themselves in the previous set: up 24-21. This time, Biola was not able to finish out the set, and after a long set of back-and-forths, Westmont finally got the win after a Biola attack error.

Strong Performers

The night did have some strong performers from Biola, specifically Mason and senior outside hitter Britta Blaser. Mason led all hitters with 16 kills and a .414 kill percentage, followed closely by Blaser with 15 kills and her .370 kill percentage. Another strong performance for the Eagles was senior libero Alex Brehaut, who tallied 19 digs against the Warrior offense.   

The Eagles only have three games left in the regular season, none bigger than the game against the Vanguard Lions on Nov. 10. Biola lost to the Lions in their first meeting of the season, and will not be taking them lightly in this upcoming match.

“It won't be an easy match, Vanguard is a great team,” Arbuthnot said. “But I believe if we play our game at our level, we will be successful and have a great last home match.”

Next Game

Before that game however, the Eagles must first play the San Diego Christian Hawks on Nov. 5 inside Chase Gymnasium at 7 p.m.