Volleyball closed out their four-game homestand on Wednesday night, taking on Concordia University Irvine in a PacWest matchup. Biola came out on top with a sweep of the Eagles of Concordia, led by excellent overall team play.
Biola started the first set on fire, taking an early 11-4 lead on a kill from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Christina DenBoer. The Eagles of Concordia clawed their way back into the set though, going on several runs to tighten the gap to 15-13. The two teams fought back and forth from there, and CUI gained a 23-22 advantage late in the set on a kill from DenBoer’s cousin Julia DenBoer. However, Biola buckled down from there, winning the set on a kill from Christina DenBoer and several Concordia hitting errors.
“We had passing errors, serving errors, and then all of a sudden they turned it on and next thing you know we’re in a dog fight. We got fortunate they missed a serve and hit a ball out at the end so we didn’t have to do much,” said head coach Aaron Seltzer.
Biola looked much more focused in the second set, taking a 9-2 advantage on a kill from sophomore middle blocker Bekah Roth. They never let off the gas pedal, stretching the lead to 18-9 on a kill from senior middle blocker Sierra Bauder. They won the set 25-11 on a brilliant three-point stretch from senior outside hitter Hannah Van Warmerdam that included a kill, a block and another kill.
“Hannah does a great job, she comes in in great spots, a lot of energy. She’s been passing probably the best I’ve seen her pass all her career. Got a couple of kills, that was really good for us in that game,” Seltzer said.
Looking for their fifth straight-set win in conference play, Biola battled back and forth with CUI, gaining an 11-8 lead on a CUI hitting error. Senior setter Brinley Beresford put Biola up 20-18 on an excellent tip to the back corner, and they closed the sweep out 25-19 on an absolute rocket from senior opposite hitter Karly Dantuma.
DenBoer, Christina that is, led Biola with 10 kills, followed by junior opposite hitter Sabrina Winslow with eight. Sophomore setter Vanessa Garcia tallied 20 assists while Beresford recorded 18. Sophomore libero Sami Hover put up an astounding 20 digs to lead the defense.
Biola (10-5, 6-2 PacWest) hits the road for a matchup at Fresno Pacific University Friday at 6 p.m.
