HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University came home for the first time in over a month only to see its six-match winning streak snapped as Biola claimed a 3-1 PacWest Conference victory Thursday night at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (10-6, 6-2), took the first set 25-23, but lost the last three to the Eagles (8-8, 3-5) 25-21, 25-17, 25-22.
 
The Sharks hit only .077 with nine team blocks, while Biola hit .179 but with 17 team blocks.
 
Senior Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico led HPU with 17 kills and a .191 attack percentage to go with three blocks. Junior Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge added 10 kills with nine digs. Sophomore Kirah Boynton-Brown of Vancouver, Wash./Union and junior Sierra Piester of Carlsbad, Calif./Tri-City Christian each posted four blocks.
 
Bekah Roth led the Eagles with 13 kills with six blocks, while Becca Branch had 11 kills with nine digs. Abigail Copeland recorded 11 blocks for the match along with seven kills, while Raegan Tjepkema added six blocks with nine kills.
 
The Sharks jumped out to an early lead to start the match, and while seeing the opening set tied twice, never trailed. The Sharks held a 20-15 lead, only to see the Eagles challenge. HPU led 24-21 on a Collie kill, but Biola responded with two quick points to pull within one at 24-23. Following a Shark timeout, HPU won the set on a kill by sophomore Nicole Ferris of Woodstock, Ga./Etowah to make it 25-23.
 
HPU saw the Eagles jump out to a 12-4 lead, but battled back to tie the set at 18, 19 and 20. HPU hit into a block by Abigail Copeland to give BU a 21-20 advantage, the first of three straight blocks by the Eagles. HPU got another point by Escobar to pull within two, but a pair of kills by Roth evened the match as BU won 25-21.
 
The Eagles took control of the match in the third set, building 16-10 lead midway through. Biola finished off the Sharks with a block and an HPU attack error to win 25-17.
 
The Sharks fought hard in the final set, swapping the lead with Biola six times to go with six ties. HPU built an 18-14 lead in the fourth and could smell a deciding set. But the Eagles came out of a timeout with a 6-0 run to take a 20-18 advantage. The Sharks closed the gap to a point twice, only to have the Eagles get the edge. After HPU closed to 23-22, Tjepkema collected back-to-back kills as Biola got the 25-22 triumph and the upset.
 
HPU doesn't have much time to drown its misery as the Sharks host Concordia Irvine on Saturday night at The Shark Tank. First serve is set for 7 p.m.