A mere two weeks ago when the Biola volleyball team upset then No. 3 Concordia on the road, it seemed like it would be the highlight of their season.
Not anymore.
In yet another upset victory for the young Eagle squad — they have defeated three top ten squads this year — Biola nearly swept highly touted Cal Baptist by scores of 25-20, 25-20, 24-26 and 25-21.
It was only the third loss of the year for the Lancers, who fall to 23-3 overall and 13-3 in the GSAC, trailing only undefeated Fresno Pacific. The Eagles move to 18-8 overall and 9-6 in conference play, good enough for fifth place.
The Eagles enjoyed strong outings from their outside hitters, sophomore Kim Russell led the Eagles with 13 kills while freshman Nicolette Mather hit .357 on the way to 10 kills and three blocks.
It was just another productive day at the office for middle blocker Kelsey Christopherson with 10 kills, .304 average, and five blocks. The senior leads the Eagles in total kills and hitting percentage and her .359 season average puts her in the top 25 in the NAIA.
Freshman setter Justine Schoneveld has some accolades of her own as the season draws to its conclusion. Her 10.4 assists per set and 974 total assists leads all GSAC players and puts her in the upper echelon of setters nationwide.
The first two sets were nearly carbon copies as both teams played even volleyball before the Eagles pulled away late in the set for five point wins.
Going into the third set down 2-0 the Lancers built up an early three point cushion that would change little until Cal Baptist took a 15-12 lead and turned it into 20-12 lead. Senior outside hitter from CBU Noelle Dyk served six consecutive before a Christopherson kill ended the run. The teams traded points to 22-14 before sophomore Christian Woodruff served six straight of her own, including three aces.
Kim Russell’s kill gave the Eagles the ball back down by two at 21-23 and freshman Rachel Buckley came in to serve four consecutive points and a brief lead at 24-23. The Lancers were not to be denied however and won three consecutive to end the comeback and win the set at 26-24.
The Eagles had another chance at the upset in the fourth set but fell behind early and stayed behind until the Lancers began to implode late in the set. With the score tied at 15 all, CBU committed five attack errors in seven points to fall behind 21-16. The Eagles would not be denied again and held on for a 25-21 win.
“We aren’t even in that match without huge contributions from out underclassmen,” said Eagles assistant coach Zach Underwood. “Woodruff had a career match, four aces and her defense and serve receive were almost flawless. Buckley came back from injury and served like a champion. Between her and Christian, the Eagles came back from down eight to nearly sweeping the No. 2 team in the nation”
With the win, Biola trades places with Vanguard University in the national ranking and earn their first trip inside the top 10 at the No. 10 spot.
The Eagles will face off with Vanguard to defend their ranking on Thursday night at Chase Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
