COLUMBIA, Mo.—The University of Mobile volleyball team dropped its opening match at the 2007 NAIA National Tournament, as the 4th-ranked Biola University Lady Eagles out-hit Mobile .376 to .154 on their way to the 3-0 (30-23, 30-16, 30-23) victory.

 

In the first game of the match, the Lady Rams took an early 13-9 lead after a pair of errors by Biola sandwiched a Paula Stilkey kill. Unfortunately for Mobile, Biola went on a quick 6-1 run to take their first lead and never looked back.

 

The Lady Rams were able to fight back within 3 points late, 23-26, but 4th-ranked Biola finished the game with a 4-0 run thanks to a trio of attack errors by the Lady Rams.

 

Game 2 was not as kind to Mobile as the Lady Eagles jumped out to a 7-1 lead and cruised to the finish line, as the Lady Rams could not get any closer than 4 in the game.

 

The final game was much like the first. The two teams jostled back and forth all the way until Biola held a late 21-20 lead. From there, the Lady Eagles used 6 kills and 2 aces to finish off the sweep on the opening day of pool play.

 

The 20-team field is divided into five pools of four teams, and the top two teams from each pool advance to a single-elimination bracket. With that in mind, a team can lose and still advance.

 

But, the road will be tough for Mobile, as the Lady Rams will face #6 Columbia College at 1:30 pm on Thursday, November 29th and then battle #24 Campbellsville at 8:15 pm on the same day.