SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Some days are just like that … and the Seattle Pacific Falcons had one on Saturday.
 
Sydney Perry recorded seven kills, and Coco Barnett had five to go along with three blocks, but offense was hard to come by as No. 19 SPU dropped a 3-1 decision to Biola on the final day of the Yotes Classic Showcase volleyball tournament.
 
Scores in Coussoulis Arena on the Cal State San Bernardino campus were 25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 25-17.
 
 

"We just had a hard time getting going," head coach Jason Rhine said. "It wasn't just one thing that was hurting us. Biola served really tough, and it started that way, giving up some aces. We had a hard time getting into system, and it kind of went from there."
 
Fifth-year outside hitter Perry, who had a double-double in Friday's 3-2 loss to No. 1-ranked Cal State Los Angeles, had six digs in addition to her seven kills on Saturday. But aside from her and freshman opposite Barnett, no one else had more than three kills for the Falcons (0-4).
 
SPU hit minus-.016 for the day (24 kills-26 errors-122 attacks). Biola (1-2) had 50 kills and finished at ,158 hitting (50-29-133).
 
"Our setter-hitter connection didn't seem like it was quite there," Rhine said. "We were struggling on scoring even when we got chances."
 
After a quick start with a 5-2 lead in the opening set, the Falcons saw Biola (1-2) run off eight points in a row to go up 10-5. Another 4-0 Eagles run made it 14-6, and Seattle Pacific never came closer than seven.
 
Biola built a 20-13 lead in Set 2, but SPU climbed back in on a combined block by Hannah Hair and Eva LaRochelle, another combined block by Hair and Erin Smith, and two Eagles attack errors, making it 20-17. But BU came out of a timeout and ran off the final five points of the set.
 
The Falcons led for the entirety of Set 3 jumping to a 4-0 lead, extending the match into a fourth set. But Biola quickly went ahead and stayed ahead. Seattle Pacific got as close as two on four occasions later in the set, the last time at 18-16. The Eagles then scored seven of the final eight points to clinch it.
 
"There are a lot of good teams in tournaments like this, and I thought we played some good games this weekend," Rhine said. "In our first three matches, we kept growing as a team and had individual people stepping up and just becoming options for us and showing what they're capable of against different blockers and defenders.
 
"That one today maybe wasn't our best," he added. "But there are enough good teams that you're not going to be able to get away with not playing a solid level."
 
 

BY THE NUMBERS
-- Senior libero Abigail Cunningham had 15 digs, the first of which was the 800th of her career. She now has 814.
-- Senior setter Emily Tulino moved past 600 career digs for the weekend. She now has 609.
-- Fifth-year middle Hannah Hair had six blocks on Saturday, giving her 20 for the four-match weekend and putting her just nine away from 500.
 
UP NEXT
After playing three nationally ranked teams this weekend in San Bernardino (No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino, No. 1 Cal State Los Angeles, and No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona), the Falcons head to Denver next weekend for the Colorado Premier Challenge. They play twice on Friday, facing No. 14-ranked Lewis at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time and No. 5 Concordia St. Paul at 5:00.
 
Saturday's pairings will be determined by where each of the 12 teams finish in their respective three-team pools. The four pool winners play in the Gold Bracket, the second-place teams play in the Silver Bracket, and the third -place teams play in the Bronze Bracket.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Yotes Classic Showcase
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024
Coussoulis Arena / San Bernardino, Calif.
 
Biola 3, (No. 19) Seattle Pacific 1
 
Game scores – 25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 25-17.
 
Service aces – SPU 4 (Perry 2), BU 9 (Bethany Bellifi 3).
Kills – SPU 24 (Perry 7), BU 50 (Vandertuig 13, Moore 13).
Assists – SPU 23 (Tulino 12), BU 44 (Lambert 37).
Digs – SPU 50 (Cuningham 15), BU 65 (Bri Bellfi 14).
Block assists / solo – SPU 18 / 2 solo (Hair 5 / 1 solo), BU 14 / 0 solo (Guzzetti 6 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – 24-26-122—minus .016 (Perry 7-4-23—130), BU 50-29-133—158 (Vandertuig 13-6-8—250).
Attendance – 55.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 0-4.   Biola 1-2.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific vs. No. 14 Lewis
Friday, Sept 13    1:00 p.m. PDT
Regis Field House / Denver, Colo.


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