Biola volleyball team, coming in 5th in the NAIA, played the 25th ranked Cal State San Marcos Cougars this week.  The Eagles swept the Cougars in three consecutive sets and look ahead to their Thursday matchup against the University of Texas at Brownsville.

This proved an important game for the Eagles to build momentum for this week.

“Coming into this week, we know we have three games in a row, so we were super intentional about starting well,” said senior middle blocker Amy Weststeyn.

The Eagles started the week off positively, sweeping the Cougars in three straight sets.

“We were pretty good with not having any errors,” said junior outside hitter Alyssa Mason. “And we were talking pretty loud, so that keeps us motivated and on a roll.”

Biola started on a roll and took the first set with a score of 25-16. San Marcos was able to put up a tougher fight in the second match, scoring seven of the first ten points of the game. The Eagles rallied to tie it up at seven apiece, the game going back and forth until Biola pulled ahead and won 25-19. Biola played relentlessly for most of the third set until the Cougars rallied. It ended up being too little too late for San Marcos and the Eagles put the game away with a score of 25-19.

“This was the start to our week, so everyone was on board as far as we were going to play consistent and play our game,” said Weststeyn, “San Marcos is a good team, and we didn’t know a ton of what to expect, and so we were just on our toes. Mentally we were all on the same page.”

The next game for the Eagles is a rematch of last year’s national championship against the University of Texas at Brownsville. This matchup sits in the minds of many players.

“[The San Marcos] game was super important, just to gain confidence and get in a rhythm for Thursday’s game,” said Mason, when asked about the importance of the victory over San Marcos.

On Thursday, the Eagles take on the Ocelots of Texas-Brownsville in a rematch of last year’s National Championship where Biola was defeated in three straight sets.

When asked how important the Texas-Brownsville matchup is, Westeyn replied, “Texas is a great team and they have been strong for years. It’s always a strong, competitive match. We’re ready to see what they have to bring.”

The Eagles try to avenge last year’s loss against the University of Texas at Brownsville in Chase Gymnasium on Thursday, Oct. 23.