It was a busy week for Biola volleyball, as they kicked off their regular season against three GSAC opponents. After a dominating preseason against non-conference competition, the Eagles battled Vanguard, rival Westmont, and San Diego Christian. Biola started the week with a ten-game win streak, the product of two preseason tournaments and matches against NCAA Division II opponents, and hoped to carry over their strong play into their first real test of the season, played last Thursday against 13th ranked Vanguard University.
In last years matchup against Vanguard, Biola jumped out to an early two-set lead, but the Lancers bounced back to force a fifth game, which Biola barely won 15-13. This year however, Biola seemed determined to send a message that such a comeback would not be tolerated. They again went up two sets to none, and this time refused to let Vanguard back into the game winning the match 25-22, 25-21, and 25-12 in the finale.
Senior outside hitter Jessica Buffum posted strong all around stats with 10 kills, six digs, a service ace and a block to round out her night. Junior libero Katie Stevens got back on track with 19 digs, a team high and season best for Stevens while junior Abbie Wright and senior Christina Perk ins split duties at setter, recording 16 and 19 set assists, respectively.
Vanguard was able to keep pace with Biola through two sets, finishing each set within striking distance but never able to close the distance for the win. The Eagles found itself in trouble during each set, having to run off six consecutive points in the first set, and needing 7-2 and 8-2 point runs in the second set to stay in control.
The third set was all Biola as they rolled to easy victory, using the strong net play of senior middle blocker Kristen Peterson to control the tempo. Peterson finished with 8 blocks and 5 kills, contributing over half of Biola’s 12 overall blocks.
Two days later, Biola hosted Westmont for their first home conference game. The Eagles steamrolled unranked Westmont, finishing out the match in just over an hour, with seniors Meghan Warkentin and Jessica Buffum put on a hitting clinic in the match, together accounting for 26 kills and a combined .565 hitting percentage.
Biola rolled through the first two sets, only giving up seven points in the first set and winning the second 25-18. In the third set, Westmont showed signs of life by staying within striking distance of Biola throughout the set but never able to get closer than two points after the Eagles put together a five point rally to run the score to 17-11. Biola finished out the match with a final sc ore of 25-22.
The duo of junior Abbie Wright and senior Christina Perkins shared time at setter, combining for 17 and 20 set assists, respectively. Junior defensive specialist Katie Stevens again led Biola defensively with 14 digs, despite Westmont hitters avoiding hitting the ball her direction.
On Tuesday night, Biola played host to the San Diego Christian Hawks. The Eagles came into the game with a 12-game win streak, and looked to run away with another victory against the 3-10 Hawks. However, the Eagles, while never seriously threatened by San Diego, allowed the Hawks to control the tempo early in all three sets before using several long runs to regain control. Considering San Diego’ s record, they surprised the Eagles by hanging around to challenge in the third set, actually leading at one point late in the set, at 23-22.
Freshman outside hitter Joy Talcott led the Eagles in kills, with 11 on 18 attempts, for an impressive .611 hitting percentage. Also performing well was junior Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with 7 kills including the match clincher, an authoritative put-down over the Hawks six-foot middle blocker, Tessa Witt.
Senior setter Christina Perkins had an excellent all-around game, with 24 assists, ten digs and four service aces.
With the wins, Biola improved to 13-0 for the season, their third best start in school history according to the Biola Athletic department. Biola looks to build on their efforts in the upcoming week with matches against Point Loma and Hope International.
In other news, the first week of GSAC action provided little in the way of upsets, but still featured plenty of top-ranked teams jockeying for position in the hyper-competitive conference. On Saturday, top-ranked Fresno Pacific extended its 23 match winning streak with a three and out over second ranked Cal Baptist. Third-ranked Concordia followed suit by sweeping Point Loma, currently ranked sixth.
