LOS ANGELES – OK … Try calculating the odds on this situation:
 
Late in the third set of Friday afternoon's volleyball match against Biola, the Seattle Pacific Falcons were down two sets to none. They were down 24-22 in the third set – double match point against them
 
At that moment in time, BU needed just one more point to win it.
 
SPU needed at least 44 points
 
The Eagles never got their one.
 
But the Falcons did get their 44: four to pull out the third, 25 to win the fourth, 15 to win the fifth.

 
 

Sarah Brachvogel slammed a career-high 19 kills, Ashley Antoniak supplied a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs, and SPU pulled off the most improbable of come-from-behind victories, defeating Biola on the second day of the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational, 3-2.
 
Scores in University Gym were 22-25, 26-28, 26-24, 25-16, 15-11.
 
Less than 24 hours after nearly knocking off No. 7-ranked Cal State San Bernardino before going down in five sets, the Falcons recorded what will go down as one of the more dramatic victories in the 37-year history of the program.
 
The last time Seattle Pacific came from two sets down to win was April 10, 2021 against Northwest Nazarene during the pandemic-abbreviated spring season. That one in Brougham Pavilion went 22-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 16-14.
 
"The first three sets were all really close, and we had to come back within those sets," Falcons head coach Jason Rhine said. "But I thought it was just a really good battle. Both sides had some good matchups they were taking advantage of, and it was just a really fun match."
 
The Falcons wound up with a split for the day, as host Cal State L.A. scored a 3-0 sweep in the evening, 25-22, 25-20, 25-18.
 
SPU 3, Biola 2
The fact that it could have wound up as a sweep was not indicative of how close the match was through the first three sets: six ties and two lead changes in the first, 11 ties and six lead changes in the second, 15 ties and seven lead changes in the third.
 
The Falcons had a first-set lead of 16-13 before Biola moved ahead with a 7-1 scoring run. In the second, the Eagles led by as many as six at 13-7, but SPU ultimately had two tries for set point at 24-23 and 25-24, both of which Biola saved with kills. Tied at 26-26, a kill and a service ace gave the set to BU.
 
In the third, Biola built a 20-17 lead. The Falcons came back to tie it at 20, then at 21, then at 22. A kill by Madison Beebe (who finished the day with 14) and a combined block gave Biola double match point at 24-22.
 
Rhine called his second and final timeout.
 
 

"I think we just felt like we weren't done yet and we were really excited to keep playing," Rhine said. "We felt like we had some chances to take one of the first couple sets. We wanted to do everything we could to put some pressure on Biola and see it we could push it to four sets. If we could, I felt like we had a chance to win it."
 
The Eagles had a service error coming out of the timeout, making it 24-23 and giving the serve to Lindsey Lambert, still facing match point. Brachvogel got a kill to tie it. Junior middle blockers Hannah Hair and Erin Smith combined on a block to give the Falcons a set point at 25-24. Smith converted it with a kill on the next serve, and SPU was still alive, down 2-1 in sets.
 
Seattle Pacific took charge of the fourth set with a 5-0 run to turn a 6-5 deficit into a 10-6 lead. Biola never got closer than three after that, at 13-10. From there, the Falcons put four in a row on the board for 17-10, then later had another three-point burst for a 23-14 lead.
 
 

The teams traded four-point runs early in the fifth, SPU's providing a 5-1 lead, Biola's tying at 5-5. At 6-6, back-to-back kills by Smith gave the Falcons an 8-6 lead at the changeover, and they tacked on one more point after that on an Eagles attack error.
 
From there, both sides traded points the rest of the way. Five times, Biola got within two. Five times, Seattle Pacific answered. Finally at 13-11, a kill by Brachvogel off an Eagles blocker gave the Falcons match point. Antoniak and Hair sealed it with a combined block.
 
That block was Point No. 44 in the comeback.
 
"I thought we played really well in the fourth set and adapted well to what they were doing, Rhine said. "We were excited to still be playing volleyball, especially after those first couple sets. We were excited to play that fifth set, and we came out with really good energy and confidence."
 
Cal State L.A. 3, SPU 0
The Golden Eagles took big early leads in the first two sets, and although the Falcons battled back in both, they were never able to catch up all the way. L.A. scored the first seven points of the match. Seattle Pacific got within two several times in the opening set, the last time at 24-22. The hosts built an 11-3 lead in the second, and the closest SPU came was three, the last time at 18-15.
 
The Falcons were within range at 19-18 late in the third before CSULA scored the last six points to close out the match.
 
Los Angeles had 34 more attacks than Seattle Pacific (121-87) and 22 more kills (50-28). Ashley Antoniak led the Falcons with seven, and Hannah Hair added six.
 
DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN
The last time Seattle Pacific faced a double-match point situation was Oct. 26, 2019 at home against Central Washington. The Wildcats won the first two sets and were up 14-12 in the fifth. But the Falcons came back to win it, 18-16, getting the final point on a service ace by then-freshman Paige Dawson.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- This is the second straight year Seattle Pacific and Biola have gone five sets in preseason play. Last year at the SPU-Central Washington Invitational in Brougham Pavilion, the Falcons prevailed, 25-14, 24-26, 28-26, 23-25, 15-11.
-- Sarah Brachvogel's previous career high for kills was 12 in Thursday's five-setter against Cal State San Bernardino.
-- Ashley Antoniak's double-double in the Biola match was the second of her career.
-- After hitting just .031 in the opening set against Biola, Seattle Pacific wound up at .214 (61 kills-28 errors-154 attacks). That included .467 in the fourth set (17-3-30), and .208 in the fifth (9-4-24) after hitting .000 in the fifth (4-4-22) on Thursday against Cal State San Bernardino.
-- Hannah Hair had a season-high seven blocks against BU, including her first solo of the fall.
-- Allison Wilks showed Biola her best performance of the year with six kills, .455 hitting (6-1-11) and a season-best six total blocks. Wilks played error-free against CSULA, going 3-0-6—500.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific concludes the tournament on Saturday against Chaminade at 1:00 p.m. That is one hour later than the previously announced starting time.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Friday, Sept. 2, 2022
Cal State Los Angeles Invitational
University Gym / Los Angeles, Calif.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Biola 2
 
Game scores – 22-25, 26-28, 26-24, 25-16, 15-11.
Service aces – Biola 9 (Brewster 3), SPU 8 (Cunningham 2, Antoniak 2, Tulino 2).
Kills – Biola 56 (Aubele 15), SPU 61 (Brachvogel 19, Antoniak 12).
Assists – Biola 51 (Brewster 42), SPU 59 (Lambert 25, Tulino 24).
Digs – Biola 50 (Bellfi 18), SPU 53 (Cunningham 11, Antoniak 11).
Block assists / solo – Biola 16 / 3 solo (Guy 4 / 1 solo, Aubele 4 / 1 solo), SPU 26 / 1 solo (Hair 6 / 1 solo, Wilks 6 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – Biola 56-32-151—159 (Brewster 5-0-6—333), SPU 61-28-154—214 (Wilks 6-1-11—455).
Attendance – 50.
 
 
Cal State Los Angeles 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-22, 25-20, 25-18.
Service aces – SPU 6 (Perry 4), CSULA 8 (Grova 3).
Kills – SPU 28 (Antoniak 7), CSULA 50 (Dittmann 126).
Assists – SPU 26 (Tulino 13), CSULA 39 (Cannon 30).
Digs – SPU 35 (Cunningham 9), CSULA 37 (Henke 13).
Block assists / solo – SPU 6 / 1 solo (Hasir 2 / 0 solo, Pruden 1 / 1 solo), CSULA 5 / 2 solo (Grubbs 2 / 1 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 28-12-8—184 (Wilks 3-0-6—500), CSULA 50-14-121—298 (Roundtree 4-0-7—571).
Attendance –154.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 2-5, Cal State Los Angeles 4-3.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific vs. Chaminade
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
University Gym / Los Angeles, Calif.