LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The Biola University Athletic Department is pleased to announce the official release of the schedules for the 2009 Fall sports seasons which includes volleyball, men's and women's soccer and cross country.

The Volleyball squad, fresh off one of its best seasons in program history, attacks a tough schedule in 2009. The slate includes three pre-conference tournaments before the Eagles play their 20-match schedule in the best volleyball conference in the NAIA: The Golden State Athletic Conference. 

Biola will once again kick off the season at the Azusa Pacific Cougar Classic (Aug. 21-22), followed by the Fresno Pacific Sunbird Invitational (Aug. 28-29) and the Concordia University Labor Day Festival (Sept. 4-5). The Eagles will face three opponents which reached the NAIA Tournament in 2008, squaring off against one in each of the three tournaments.

Biola opens conference play on Sept. 8, traveling to cross-town foe Hope International. From there, the Eagles embark on the 20-match GSAC schedule which features 12 matches against teams which reached the NAIA Championships last season including the Champions Fresno Pacific and runners-up Concordia University.

The Women's Soccer team has a favorable 2009 schedule which features nine of its 14 games at home. After a pre-season exhibition, the Eagles open the season with four-straight home games, the first against NCAA Division II Academy of Art on Monday, Sept. 7 at 3:30 p.m. 

That contest is followed by home games against Holy Names (Sept. 10) and Soka University (Sept. 18) before the home stand concludes with the first GSAC match against San Diego Christian College on Sept 26.

From that point on, the Eagles play their nine of their final 10 matches against conference opponents including a big battle against arch-rival Azusa Pacific University on Saturday, Oct. 10. The final home game of the regular season is slated for Tuesday, Oct. 27 against Vanguard University.

On the men's side, the Eagles also benefit from a large number of home games with nine of their 16 games coming at Al Barbour Field.

Biola opens the regular season slate with a trip north, traveling to Cal State East Bay (Aug. 24) and UC Santa Cruz (Aug. 29) before opening the home portion of the schedule on Friday, Sept. 4 against Trinity International University (Ill.) at 7:00 p.m. That match also kicks off a four-game homestand culminating with the GSAC opener against San Diego Christian College on Saturday, Sept. 26.

The Eagles also are slated to take on arch-rival Azusa Pacific University in a Parents Weekend battle on Saturday, Oct. 10 and round out the home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, Oct. 28. 

The Biola cross country team also completed a successful 2008 season and opens the 2009 year with an ambitious schedule featuring a pair of NCAA Division I races. The Eagles begin the season at the UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 12 followed by the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 19. Both races feature a predominately NCAA Division I field and should provide a good challenge for the teams to start off the season.

Biola once again will host the Biola University Invitational at Irvine Regional Park on Saturday, Oct. 24. The men's 8K race begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by the women's 5K race at 9:15 a.m.



To view the schedules for each team, click the following links: 

Volleyball | Women's Soccer | Men's Soccer | Cross Country