Biola’s volleyball team kicked off their season by hosting the annual Biola Summer Slam tournament on August 21-22. The Eagles went 4-0 in the tournament putting their overall record at 4-1.

DAY ONE

The first match of the day for the Eagles was against Concordia University. In the first set against the Cavaliers Biola had a total of 13 unforced errors and fell to the Cavaliers 26-24. However, Biola turned things around in the second set and won in a close game 25-23.

The Eagles found their momentum in the third set and surged ahead of the Cavaliers 25-16 and went on to win the fourth and final set 26-19.

Senior middle blocker Amy Weststeyn led the team with 14 kills and 7 blocks. Junior Alyssa Mason also contributed to the win against the Cavaliers with 13 kills of her own.

The Eagles’ second match of the day against the College of Idaho Yotes was a different story. Biola swept the Yotes 25-21, 25-20, and 25-11.

Biola and Idaho kept within at least two points of each other for the majority of the first set. The Eagles were able to pull away with three consecutive kills from the front row to put Biola in the lead at 23-19. Biola went on to win the match 25-21.

Biola was able to find their momentum earlier in the second set and established a strong lead at 18-15 to go on and win the set 25-20.

The Eagles ended the third set quickly with a 25-11 victory over the Yotes to finish the match.

DAY TWO

On the second day of the tournament Biola matched up against Midland College. The Eagles dominated in the first set and capitalized on six errors Midland committed to establish a 15-9 lead. Biola went on to defeat Midland 25-16.

In the second set Biola struggled with errors. The Eagles stayed close to Midland in the beginning of the second set but fell behind at 17-20 and could not recover and fell to the Chaparrals 25-19.

Biola cleaned up their errors against Midland in the third set and pulled away at 22-18. The Eagles held on to their lead and beat the Chaparrals 25-21.  Biola went on to win the fourth and final set 25-20.   

The Eagles swept Bellevue University for the final match of the tournament. Biola kept the lead for the entire first set to finish 25-23. The Eagles took full advantage of the Bruins’ 11 attack errors to finish the second set 25-7.

Bellevue cleaned up their act in the third set with only six unforced errors committed, however the Eagles still finished on top to end the match at 25-14.

Junior outside hitter Joclyn Kirton led the team in kills with a total of 15 for the entire match. Weststeyn came in second for the most kills with 10.

LOOKING AHEAD

Last season the Eagles went all the way to the NAIA National Volleyball championship game before falling to No. 1 Texas Brownsville in three sets.  Although five of the Eagles graduated after the 2013 season, the team’s roster is filled with seasoned players including seven juniors and three seniors. The three seniors leading Biola are Weststeyn and defensive specialists Jaci Schork and Charley Parker.   

Next up for the Eagles is the Concordia Labor Day Festival Tournament. Biola will be playing Eastern Oregon University on Friday at 12 pm.