Biola volleyball continued to dominate Azusa Pacific this week, even as it felled The Master’s College.
Biola got back on track this week after last week’s two tough losses derailed their 15-match winning streak. On Saturday, the Eagles traveled to Santa Clarita to take on The Master’s College, and walked away with the sweep, 25-20, 25-15 and 25-21.
With the win, Biola improved to 16-2 overall and 6-2 in GSAC standings while the Mustangs fell to 7-9 and 1-7 in the GSAC.
In the first set, both teams traded points to an eight-all tie until a kill by junior middle blocker Kelsey Christoferson got Biola rolling to an eventual 25-20 victory. Despite the Mustangs’ lowly GSAC status, they were able to hang with Biola for an impressive part of the night, forcing Biola to keep their starters in the game.
In the second set, Biola was again unable to gain separation from Master’s, exchanging points all the way to a 10-10 tie before a 15-5 run to the finish gave Biola the win. Despite the final 10-point deficit, the set saw seven ties and three lead changes, but Master’s was held to a .144 hitting percentage, largely due to Biola’s superb back row defense, led by junior libero Katie Stevens.
Biola was behind 9-4 at the opening of the third set, and was able to fight back after a timeout caused a Mustang service error and slowed their momentum. Biola finally caught up at 16-16 and never looked back as they climbed to a 25-23 win to complete the sweep.
As usual, senior outside hitter Meghan Warkentin led the Eagles with 12 kills and a .357 hitting percentage, and junior setter Abbie Wright directed the Biola offense with 22 set assists and nine digs.
On Tuesday night, the Eagles made the short trip up the 605 freeway to take on archrival Azusa Pacific. The Azusa faithful were vocally appreciative throughout the entire match as the 14th-ranked Cougars put their 5-3 GSAC record on the line against 4th-ranked Biola. Azusa succeeded in challenging the Eagles, taking the match to four sets, but was unable to pull off the upset, falling 31-29, 25-18, 15-25, and 25-15.
The first set featured a furious rally from the Cougars, who fell behind by seven points at 10-17, but rallied to take the lead at 25-24 with a chance to close out the set, but failed on All-GSAC junior hitter Jill Baker’s hitting error.
The teams traded points but Biola’s net play made the difference in the set; the Eagles recorded three blocks in the final 11 points, including the game-winner by juniors Meghan Cunningham and Christoferson.
Biola was able to pull away in the second set despite falling behind early in the game, and a six-point run opened the door for the Eagles to claim the victory at 25-18. Biola’s success was due in large part to their ability to shut down Baker, holding her to a .034 attack percentage through the first two games. However, the third set belonged to Baker and the Cougars. At 25-15, this set was one of Biola’s worst losses of the season, as Biola was unable to stop the APU attack or gain any momentum of their own.
For only the fourth time this season, Biola was forced into extra games to bring home the victory. Biola again struggled early in the game, and allowed Azusa to hang around at 10-11 before exploding to win 14 of the last 19 points to end the Cougars’ night.
Notable Eagles were Christoferson, who had one of her best all-around game of the season, recording nine kills and a .533 attack percentage, as well as four blocks, one solo. Senior middle blocker Kristen Peterson also played well with eight kills on 14 attempts, two assists and five blocks, three solo. Finishing on top on the well-balanced Biola attack that featured seven players with at least seven kills was Warketin, who finished with 12 kills and a .267 hitting percentage.
Biola returns to action on Saturday against No. 2 Cal Baptist in the Parents Weekend matchup at Chase Gymnasium.
