LA MIRADA, Calif. -- Vanguard women's volleyball slugged it out with the Eagles of Biola Saturday night inside the Chase Gymnasium, as each side hit over .300 on the night.  The Lions, with a .317 mark, could not overcome BU (.388), as the hosts won the Pacific West Conference matchup 3-1, with set scores of 25-20, 25-21 (VU), 25-22, 25-17.  The Lions dropped to 16-8 overall, 4-6 in PacWest play, while Biola improved to 16-9, 6-4.
 
What Happened?  The opening set saw a back-and-forth contest between Vanguard and Biola, with neither team able to establish much beyond short two-point leads. It was an effort from the entire lineup to open the contest, with four kills from four different players before Delaney Hill collected her second tally of the night.  Adeline Galvanoni had the next three Vanguard strikes, but tied at 11-11, BU put down a brief 3-0 stretch to take a 14-11 edge.  While the Lions kept pace the rest of the way, they could not erase that gap, with the Eagles ending the frame on another 3-0 run to claim the set 25-20.  Biola hit .425 in the first, while VU had a .316 rate.
 
Set 2: Morgan Cole raked an early kill to the floor and also had an ace to vault the Blue and Gold ahead 5-2.  Cole and Galvanoni added powerful kills to extend the Lions' lead, which rose to 13-6.  Biola nearly stunned the Lions after that, rattling off a 10-2 streak to cut the gap to 15-14 before the hosts eventually tied the set at 18-all.  Yet a Payton Darm strike and good defense put the Lions back ahead, and a block by Darm and Abigayle Gotwals netted VU the stanza 25-21.  The Lions had a team-high .412 hitting percentage in the set, holding BU to a team-low .256 clip.
 
Set 3: The third commenced with Biola taking an early 3-1 lead, but Cole stepped up and threw down three kills for Vanguard to equalize the score in short order.  It seemed like it would be an even duel, but after a 7-7 score line, the Eagles yanked the rug out with a 9-4 run to lead 16-11.   Despite efforts from the Lions, including a service ace by Kate Fagundes, Biola maintained its lead and won the frame 25-22.  Biola hit .375 in the third period, with Vanguard at a .263 mark.
 
Set 4: The Lions led 3-1 after Cole and Robinson pocketed kills, but BU leapt away from there.  A 13-3 stretch put the Lions out of reach, and though Cole, Galvanoni, and Hill each had multiple kills the rest of the way, the Eagles secured the match with a 25-17 decision.  BU had a match-high .515 hitting rate in the fourth, with VU at a .276 rate.
 
The Lions had one more dig than the Eagles (59-58), while the block count was equal at 5-5 between the foes.  Cole led Vanguard with 17 kills and 16 digs, netting double-double number 51 in her career.  Galvanoni had 14 kills and a .303 hitting rate, while Hill had 14 kills but only two errors on 24 swings for a .500 hitting clip.  It is the sixth time that Hill has hit her career-high of 14 kills.  Macy Kavanaugh had 32 assists and 14 digs for a double-double, with Julia Ringenberg posting 19 helpers. Fagundes had 13 digs.  Darm and Gotwals had three block assists each.  The defeat ends VU's two-game win streak over the Eagles.
 
What's Next?  The Lions travel to Point Loma on Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. match.