Women’s volleyball nets four more wins

The Biola women’s volleyball team improved to a 9-3 overall record by defeating four teams in two days at the 2011 Concordia University Labor Day Festival in Irvine. Biola started off with wins against Westminster College, 25-12, 25-14, 25-18 and Carroll College, 25-14, 25-22, 13-25, 25-12 on Friday, Sept. 2.

Biola cruised to victory against Westminster by winning the first three sets of the match. Junior Nicolette Mather knocked down 11 kills out of 14 attempts, recording an incredible .786 percentage, and was a mere .006 percent shy of the school record. Junior Rachel Buckley had nine blocks to tie the school record for blocks in a three-set match. She currently holds the record for blocks in a four-set match with 12. Junior Christine Douglas added 10 kills with no errors.

“I think we all played really well. We had a good flow going,” Douglas said. “It was good to be on top of it.”

Eagles take three of four sets from Carroll College

After taking a short break, the Eagles returned to the court to take on Carroll College. Biola got off to a good start by winning the first two sets. However, the team struggled in the third set, hitting a rock bottom .156 percent of their attempts and was defeated 13-25. This was the only set in the tournament Biola lost. They came back in the fourth set, taking an early lead and eventually winning 25-12. Mather and Douglas had 12 kills each, while senior Sarah Schweiger added 10. Senior Christian Woodruff contributed 17 digs and freshman Amy Weststeyn recorded five blocks to round out the Eagles’ many impressive individual performances for the day.

On Saturday, the Eagles defeated Concordia University from New York, 25-12, 25-12, 25-19 and Cal State San Marcos, 25-21, 25-20, 25-23 to continue their solid start of the season.

Weststeyn made a significant impact on the match against Concordia. She had five blocks and set a new personal record by slamming down 18 kills for a .517 percentage in Biola’s three-set win.

“It felt so good,” she said. As a freshman, Weststeyn has already become an important contributor to the team.

“She’s an incredibly good hitter. She has an amazing view of the court, she can really see where to put it [the ball] down. I’m not surprised she got that many kills because she’s really good,” Douglas said.

Sophomore Chelsee Arnitz contributed 10 kills and two blocks of her own. Biola hit .333 percent of their attempts in the match, and held Concordia to a minuscule .060 attack percentage. With so many of the Eagles playing at a high level, they ran into little trouble obtaining the victory.

Despite tough San marcos, Schweiger excels and Biola wins

In the final match of the tournament, Biola faced off against their toughest opponent of the weekend, Cal State San Marcos, who had already defeated four ranked teams this year, including the No. 1 ranked Fresno Pacific. Although Biola did win the match in three sets, they were all decided by five points or less. Schweiger had 12 kills for the Eagles and Weststeyn added nine kills and seven blocks.

The Eagles have shown they have the potential to be a powerful force in the Golden State Athletic Conference in this upcoming season. In volleyball, the chemistry between the players makes a team great. According to Mather, this year’s women’s volleyball team possesses that chemistry.

“I’m just really excited,” Mather said. “I love Biola volleyball very much and I think we’re going to be really successful if we keep working hard, and ultimately give glory to God over everything else.”

Biola will return to the court to compete in the two-day Point Loma Nazarene University tournament beginning on Friday, Sept. 9. It is the final of the Eagles’ four pre-conference tournaments.