Just five days after fighting back from 0-2 deficit to beat No. 11 Vanguard, the Eagles were at it again Tuesday night. Only this time, it was never expected to be close. Playing on the road against San Diego Christian, Biola struggled against a motivated Hawks team in the first two sets and were trounced 23-25 and 18-25 before fighting back in the final three 25-18, 26-24 and 15-11.

The Eagles are in the midst of their busiest stretch of the season, and fatigue could be a factor as their season winds down. Already the victims of several season-ending injuries as well a handful of nagging aches, Biola has played four matches in six days due to the rescheduled Azusa game.

Still, the Eagles have won nine of ten matches dating back to the first week of October, including four wins against top-ten competition. The winning streak has essentially turned what should have been a rebuilding year into a year when the Eagles could realistically contend for the national title — provided they can continue their high level of play and find a way to be the first team to beat Fresno Pacific in nearly twelve months.

However, Biola does have one piece of history on their side: it is the only team to beat Fresno Pacific in the regular season since October of 2006.

After the forgettable first two sets, the Eagles came alive and slowed down the Hawks offense, which hit .329 in their two wins. In the third set Biola came away with the first four points and turned out to be enough, coasting to a 25-18 win.

The fourth set was much tighter, as the Eagles only held three leads, first at 1-0, again at 21-20 and then the Eagles had to come from behind to save match point to eventually win 26-24.

It was all Biola in the final set. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead and didn’t let up on the gas, taking advantage of a deflated San Diego team who started the night strong but ended with a whimper.

Biola was led by freshman outside Nicolette Mather with 15 kills, junior middle Tavea Hampton with 11 kills and senior middle Kelsey Christopherson. The Eagles had five players with ten digs or more, senior libero Katie Stevens leading the way with 19 digs.

Biola then turned their attention to archrival Azusa Pacific Wednesday night at Azusa. This game was originally scheduled to be played Oct. 27 but was postponed due to a power outage that knocked out power to the entire APU campus.

The weary Eagles fought valiantly against the Cougars, but came up short falling in five sets 3-2.

The bright spot for the Eagles was senior Katie Stevens recording her 2,000th dig. She is Biola’s career record holder in kills.

The Eagles get a few days to rest before their final regular season game at home, Saturday at 7 p.m. against Point Loma Nazarene.