(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Volleyball won the Battle of the Unbeaten, defeating Biola in a thrilling five-set match on Thursday night in Golden Gym to assume sole control of first place in the PacWest standings.
Point Loma prevailed by set scores of 18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 26-28, 15-8 to improve to 8-0 in the conference, the team's second-best start to a PacWest season in program history.
"That was a really great battle and a lot of fun to be a part of," Head Coach
Jonathan Scott said.
PLNU seemed well on its way to a four-set victory, leading 15-8 in the fourth set, but Biola fought back to win a marathon set and force a deciding fifth stanza.
However, the Sea Lions weren't phased, storming out to an immediate 5-0 lead in the fifth, helped by two
Torina Hommes service aces.
"We definitely got complacent at the end of the fourth and that's a temptation in sports when you can see the finish line, especially when you're playing a good team," Scott said. "They showed resilience and forced that fifth set. But the early start we had (in the fifth set) was pretty great."
Point Loma extended its lead to as many as eight at 13-5 before Hommes clinched the match with a kill.
And while the Sea Lions won in the end, it was the Eagles who struck first, taking the first set and leading early in the second.
However, a 5-0 run gave Point Loma an 11-9 advantage, one it didn't relinquish as a Hommes service ace leveled the match at a set apiece.
That momentum seemingly didn't carry over into the third, as BU raced out to a 10-3 lead. But PLNU showed signs of life with a 4-0 run that cut the Sea Lions' deficit to just two.
Back-to-back combined blocks from
Claire Smith and Hommes made it a one-point set before Point Loma managed to tie it at 15-15 after an incredible dig from
Abigail Nua ultimately resulted in a kill for
Grace Hicks.
The teams traded the next eight points until PLNU took its first lead of the set on a Nua kill. Then consecutive kills by Smith made it 22-20 in favor of the Sea Lions, forcing an Eagles timeout.
Another Smith kill ultimately gave Point Loma set point before Nua won a joust at the net to give the Sea Lions a 2-1 match advantage.
PLNU continued that late third set momentum to win the first three points of the fourth. That lead was extended to as many as seven after a Smith kill following a Biola timeout.
That's when the visitors slowly began their march back to extend the match to a fifth set, but in the end it was the Sea Lions who came out on top, holding the Eagles to a -0.045 attack % in the final stanza.
Abigail Nua (17 digs) led the Sea Lions with 17 kills, while
Claire Smith (six blocks) and
Grace Hicks (three blocks) each pitched in with 15.
Torina Hommes added 12 kills while leading the team with eight blocks and four aces.
Sophia Baugh dished out 28 assists and
Macy Reynolds tallied 25 digs.
Lauren Phillips recorded a double-double of 21 assists and 13 digs.
Point Loma (11-4 overall, 8-0 PacWest) returns to Golden Gym on Tuesday when the Sea Lions host PacWest newcomer Westmont. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
