The Biola volleyball team finds themselves atop the Golden State Athletic Conference following two wins against Hope International University and Concordia University.
The Eagles went to HIU looking for a second sweep against the royals this season. They came off an uncomfortably close five-set win over Westmont and were wary not to put themselves in that scenario again. Biola put on a strong performance in the first set, easily beating HIU 25-14. Hope put up a fight in the next two sets, reaching into the 20’s in both sets, but it would prove not enough, as Biola once again got the three-set sweep.
The Eagles’ next opponent proved their most significant game of the season so far. They went into Concordia University looking for revenge for the loss in the five-set thriller the last time the two teams met. Biola came out fighting against a Concordia team that looked lethargic and caught by surprise.
Biola would take advantage of that to take a first-set victory at 25-20. Concordia started the second set looking like a different team, avoiding the careless errors that plagued them in the first set and went on to even the score at one set apiece with a 25-18 win. Biola rallied back, however, and won the next two sets, the fourth and final set ending in a score of 28-26. This win propelled Biola into first place in the GSAC and gave Concordia its first conference loss.
Biola's two strong middle hitters, senior Amy Weststeyn and junior Lauren Hoeneke, once again led the charge in both matches. Both of them have had an exceptionally strong season and have not faced an opponent yet who figured out how to shut them down. Weststeyn and Hoeneke combined for 52 of Biola’s 109 kills over the two matches, while only committing eight attacking errors.
Part of what makes the Eagles so potent is their multi-faceted offense. The middles attract a lot of the attention, deservedly, but their other hitters have contributed in a significant way as well. Junior outside hitter Alyssa Mason performs consistently and is second only to Weststeyn in total kills this season. Mason earned the title of GSAC Player of the Week the previous week and looks to defend the title this week. She earned 18 total kills in the two games this week while only committing two errors.
The Eagles have played solidly, but still see room for improvement as they reflect on their past matches.
“We need to work on connecting with our setters more efficiently especially in crunch time,” said Mason.
Next week brings the Eagles face-to-face with the most important match of the season on Oct. 23 against University of Texas-Brownsville. These two teams faced each other in the NAIA National Championship last year, with UTB getting the better of Biola and winning for the second time in three years.
Biola looks forward to the opportunity to test themselves against UTB and has a simple goal for this next week.
“Our goal is to win,” said Mason. “We want to play well and come out of next week with victories.”
The Eagle’s play two out-of-conference matches at home next week, the first being CSU San Marcos on Tuesday, followed by UTB on Thursday.
