LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The Biola women's volleyball team will begin one of the most difficult campaigns on record with the No. 6 ranking in the 2010 NAIA Preseason Poll which was released on Tuesday.

The Eagles finished the 2009 season ranked No. 10 in the final poll and posted a 23-11 overall record. Biola reached the NAIA Tournament for the third consecutive year, but failed to make it out of pool play.

This season, the Eagles face on of the most challenging schedules in the program's history, especially early in the season. Biola is scheduled to play the top five teams in the poll and eight of the other nine teams in the top 10.

Unsurprisingly, GSAC squads hold down five of the top 10 spots including defending NAIA National Champion Fresno Pacific, which opens the year with the No. 1 ranking. The Sunbirds are followed by Concordia University at No. 2 and California Baptist University at No. 3.

Lee University (Tenn.), which made a shocking run to reach the NAIA Semifinals last season, narrowly edged out Northwestern College (Iowa) as the No. 4 team with the Red Raiders holding down the No. 5 spot. Biola is scheduled to face both schools at the Northwestern Red Raider Classic August 27-28 in Orange City, Iowa, along with No. 17 Bellevue University (Neb.) and No. 27 Dordt College (Iowa).

"I was surprised by the ranking, but it really shows the respect for the GSAC across the country," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "For us individually, we have a lot of work ahead of us to prove that we belong up here. A lot will be decided in the next few weeks when we play a few of those teams ahead of us."

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 7 Columbia College (Mo.), No. 8 University of Texas-Brownsville, No. 9 Azusa Pacific University and No. 10 Taylor University (Ind.). The Eagles host UT-Brownsville and Taylor in non-conference matches in October.

GSAC foe Point Loma Nazarene University joins the fray as the No. 14 team with Vanguard University holding down the No. 26 spot as the top team also receiving votes. The GSAC has produced six of the last seven NAIA National Champions including Fresno Pacific, which has won the last three titles.

"Playing in the GSAC is the best test for the end of the season," said Seltzer. "It is definitely a gauge of how well you could finish based on how you play against the rest of the conference."

Biola opens the 2010 season on Saturday (Aug. 21) at the Azusa Pacific Cougar Classic. The Eagles take on Viterbo University (Wisc.) at 9:00 a.m. and Black Hills State University (S.D.) at 11:30 a.m.