LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola opened the 2010 volleyball season with an impressive showing, sweeping Viterbo University (Wisc.) and Black Hills State University (S.D.) at the Azusa Pacific University Cougar Classic on Saturday.

The Eagles (2-0), ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Preseason Rankings, opened the day with a 25-22, 25-18, 25-17 victory over Viterbo (3-3), then wrapped things up with a 25-22, 25-17, 25-10 win over Black Hills State (0-5) in the afternoon.

Sophomore Christine Douglas made an impressive Biola debut, recording 22 kills and adding 10 digs and three blocks on the day. Douglas, a transfer from Concordia University, recorded nine kills and three blocks in the opener and followed it up with 13 kills and eight digs in the second match.

She was one of six Biola players to record double-figures in kills for the day as the Eagles enjoyed a balanced attack. 

In the first match, the Eagles came out a bit rusty and fell behind 10-5 early in the first set. However, Biola used a 9-1 run to go up 14-11 and never looked back. Biola would lead 21-14 just a few minutes later before Viterbo mounted a late run to pull within one at 23-22. After a service error gave the ball back to the Eagles, sophomores Rachel Buckley and Nicolette Mather recorded a big block on the V-Hawks' leading hitter to end the set.

In the second set, Biola broke open a 14-12 game with a 7-2 run and never looked back. The story was the same in the third set, though the run occurred a bit later. With the Eagles holding a slim 16-15 lead, they would use a 8-1 run to set up match point and finish things off with a kill by Douglas.

Douglas led the way with nine kills while senior Tavea Hampton and junior Kim Russell each added seven. Hampton also had five blocks in the match and hit .500 (7-1-12).

Biola again started slow against Black Hills State as the Yellow Jackets looked for the first win of the season. The Eagles opened with an early 6-2 lead only to see Black Hills tie the score at 7-7 with a run of their own. Neither team would lead by more than two points until late in the set which saw 12 ties and three lead changes. 

Black Hills State won the race to 20 points and held a 21-19 lead before a kill by Hampton and an attack error by the Yellow Jackets knotted the score at 21-21. After exchanging kills, the Eagles put the set away with three-straight points thanks in large part to Buckley, who recorded a solo block, then teamed up with senior Amy Mosebar for the first two points.

Biola had little trouble in the next two sets, overcoming a bit of a slow start in game two, then dominating from start to finish in the third to complete the sweep.

Douglas had 13 kills to again pace the Biola attack, adding eight digs and hitting .393 in the match. Mather added six kills, three blocks and a dig with Buckley recording five kills and a team-high four blocks.

The Eagles split the time of their four setters over the two matches. Senior Abbie Wright recorded 19 assists and had three digs with freshman Gracee Gallarda adding 14 assists and six digs in the first match. In the second, freshman Nicolette Douglas had 16 assists, eight digs and a kill while sophomore Justine Schoneveld contributed 15 assists, two digs and a kill.

Next up for the Eagles is a tough trip to Iowa to participate in the Northwestern College Red Raider Classic in Orange City, Aug 27-28. Biola will face a formidable schedule, taking on No. 4 Lee University (Tenn.), No. 5 Northwestern, No. 17 Bellevue University (Neb.) and Dordt College (Iowa) in the two-day tournament. Live Stats will be available through the Biola University website.