On Saturday Oct. 1, Biola welcomed Hawaii Pacific to Chase Gymnasium. The Eagles were coming off of a bounceback 3-1 win against Hawaii Hilo, following a couple losses in a row. In this game, Biola swept the Sharks 3-0 in a dominant home performance and improved their record to 9-7 overall.  

ALL AROUND EFFORT

The entire roster contributed to the win led by outside hitter and redshirt junior public relations major Dominique Kirton with fifteen kills and three aces. Sophomore right side Anna Aubele tallied ten kills to complement her counterpart. These massive hits would not have been possible without the incredible forty-assist effort credited to redshirt senior setter Abby Brewster.  

The Eagles shined on both sides of the ball in this game. While their offense was phenomenal, their defense was just as prominent. The freshman libero, Bethany Bellfi, tallied fifteen digs, and the senior middle blocker Abigail Copeland blocked two hits.  

CLOSE THREE SETS

Despite a 3-0 shutout, each set was anything but a runaway. The first two sets ended with the same score at 25-21 in Biola’s favor each time. In those two sets, the Eagles only trailed for one possession and then led the rest of the way. It was the final set that seemed to be anyone’s game.  

In the final set, the Sharks opened with a 5-1 lead. The Eagles fought back and rode a back-and-forth wave until a 21-21 tie. At that point, Biola seemed like they were going to finish all three sets with the same score, as they went on a rally to reach 24-21. Hawaii Pacific retaliated and forced a 24-24 tie. Despite this last-chance effort, Biola still completed the three-set sweep by winning the next two points. The final score was 26-24.

Up next, Biola will return home to face the Holy Names University Hawks on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. Stats from the match can be found on the Biola Athletics website.