The Lady Eagles finished their preseason on strong note Saturday afternoon in Irvine, sweeping through four tournament format matches to improve to 9-2 on the season.
Biola rolled through day one of the tournament hosted by Concordia University, recording straight-set wins over Jamestown College and Northwest University. Day two promised stiffer competition with matches scheduled against No. 17 Indiana Tech and Carroll College.
The Eagles traveled to Fullerton on Tuesday night to face Hope International for their regular season opener. The Eagles, who began the year ranked No. 20 in the NAIA preseason poll, made quick work of the Royals, rolling to a 25-13, 25-18 and 25-17 victory in the GSAC opener.
Senior, middle blocker, Kelsey Christoferson led all players with 10 kills on .500 hitting, and also recorded two block assists. In her second year, outside hitter Kim Russell is starting to come into her own as a force at the net, recording 7 kills, while freshman hitter Nicolette Mather hit .538 on her way to 8 kills.
The match quickly turned Biola’s way in the first set with freshman outside hitter Janae O’Connor serving up two aces to give the Eagles a 9-3 lead. The Royals buried themselves with errors, hitting only .054 against Biola’s dazzling .579.
Biola picked up where they left off to open the second set, again riding Janae O’Connor’s strong serving and a Russell kill to break open a four-point lead at 13-9. Neither team was able to make much of an impression on the other after that. Hope hung around until the Eagles won the final three points for a final score of 25-18.
Christoferson stepped up in the third and final set and recorded six of her 10 kills, including the match winner. The Royals pulled back to within two at 19-17 after falling behind by five to open the set. A kill and block by Christoferson got the Eagles moving in the right direction again at 21-17, as O’Connor served up the final six points. The freshman finished the night with a game high six aces.
Thrust into the fray when an injury sidelined senior Abbie Wright, freshman setter Justine Schoneveld has performed admirably in the young season. Schoneveld is averaging 11.6 assists per set, and a nearly half of her sets go for a kill.
The Eagles defense has been steady throughout the season, held down by senior libero Katie Stevens, who holds nearly every major Biola record in the dig category. Stevens finished the night with seven digs, well below her career averages, but as a team the Eagles are receiving better than last years squad.
Biola will be tested in the upcoming week against the two top teams in the nation; No. 1 Fresno Pacific and No. 2 Concordia, who eliminated Biola in the semifinal round of Nationals last year. Four-time defending champion Fresno will be without NAIA player of the year Shu Liu, who graduated last year after an incredible career with the Sunbirds. Fresno was nearly perfect last season, their only loss coming in a five-set thriller at Chase Gymnasium against the Eagles as they marched to their second consecutive national championship.
The Eagles host Concordia on Saturday night, scheduled to start at 7pm in Chase Gymnasium.
