The Biola Eagles volleyball team visited nearby Hope International University in Fullerton for day one of the HIU Labor Day Tournament. The Eagles attained wins on Friday against La Sierra University and Lewis-Clark State College, moving their season record to 6-4.
The first match of the day started at noon, with the La Sierra Golden Eagles keeping Biola on edge through five sets. Biola got out to a quick start, winning both the first two sets 25-20, hitting at .400 in the first and .375 in the second. La Sierra fought back in the third and fourth, winning them 25-23 and 25-22 respectively, boosted along by 22 Biola attacking errors.
The fifth set had nearly identical numbers for both teams, as the Golden Eagles finished with eight kills and two errors, while Biola had nine kills and two errors. The score stayed close all the way up until 9-9, when Biola went on a five-point run to give them match point. La Sierra fended off three match points in a row before finally falling 15-12 due to a kill from sophomore opposite Stephanie Jewett.
Sophomore outside Hannah van Warmerdam and sophomore opposite Karly Dantuma led all attackers in kills, with 15 apiece. Junior middle Ally Forsberg added 12 of her own and led Biola in kill percentage at .375.
Match two of the day put the Eagles against Lewis-Clark, and Biola got out to a rough start. They hit an uninspiring .041 in the first game, getting 12 kills but committing 10 attacking errors. That allowed Lewis-Clark to win the first game 25-19.
Biola responded in a big way in game two, as they went on to a 25-13 beatdown, thanks to 17 kills and zero attacking errors. Each of the next two games ended with two fewer kills than the previous game, but the 15 and 13 kills respectively proved enough to give Biola the four-set win and a 2-0 start in the tournament.
Dantuma and van Warmerdam again led Biola in kills, matching each other with 13. Junior libero Tess van Grouw took command of the back row, digging 18 balls and only committing one error.
The Eagles are back in the Hope gym on Saturday, as they face two more opponents, the Carroll College Fighting Saints and the UC Merced Bobcats. Play starts at noon against Carroll.
