The volleyball team escaped the heat of Southern California and made their way to Rocklin, Calif. to play the William Jessup University Warriors on Oct. 21. This match marked the first of a two-day Northern California road trip. Day one ended in a win for the Eagles, who took the three set sweep over the Warriors to improve to 18-8 overall and 9-2 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

The Eagles outplayed William Jessup in every category for the match, such as earning 40 kills compared to Jessup’s 23 and serving six aces while the Warriors finished with just three. The first set proved most efficient, even though they ended with only a .194 kill percentage off 12 kills that led to a 25-16 first set win.

Set two ended in the same final score, but Biola’s hitting percentage dipped to .162, while their kills increased to 14. William Jessup got out to an early lead, but a pair of Biola four-point runs combined with solid defense throughout enabled them to the 25-16 win.

Set three ended with a score of 25-18 and saw an increase in the Eagles’ hitting percentage, which moved up to .188 off 14 kills. The match did not see a particularly high-powered Eagles offense, merely one that got the job done.

Only two players earned a kill stat in double digits, with sophomore outside Hannah van Warmerdam finishing with 13 and junior opposite Karly Dantuma tallying 10. But the match proved more about the defense, as the back row trio of junior libero Tess Van Grouw and freshmen defensive specialists Kaitlin O’Brien and Anna Houser combined for 33 digs on the evening.

The Menlo College Oaks wait to face Biola on Oct. 22 starting at 1 p.m., when the Eagles will complete the road trip and return home for the last five regular season matches before the postseason begins in November.