Dec. 1, 2007

COLUMBIA, Mo. - In the first semifinal match of the 2007 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Tournament, top-seed Fresno Pacific (Calif.) captured 3-0 win over No. 4 Biola (Calif.) at the Southwell Complex in Columbia, Mo.  The Sunbirds advanced to the championship match for the second straight season and will face the winner of the second semifinal match between No. 2 California Baptist and No. 3 Concordia (Calif.).

Fresno Pacific started the match slow and fell behind Biola, 8-4, in game-one but the Sunbirds rallied to tie the score at 20 and went on to win 30-25.  FPU controlled the next two games from start to finish for a 30-22 and 30-28 wins.

Marin Canaday and Thais Julio both led the Sunbirds with 14 kills each.  Fabiana Leomil and Brittany Pierce also reached double digits in kills with 11 apiece.  Shu Liu assisted on 43 kills while Tiffany Marinos and Leomil both recorded a team-high 15 digs. Fresno Pacific will improve its overall record to 36-1 on the season.  The one loss came in the hands of Biola during the regular season.

Meghan Warkentin was the leader for Eagles with 14 kills.  Maggie McGill added eight kills while Abbie Wright recorded a double-double with 10 digs and 19 assists.  Biola will end its 2007 season with a 32-8 overall record.

The Championship match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Southwell Complex.