LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Opening Round play has been completed and the pools have been set for the final site competition at the 2012 NAIA Volleyball National Championships which begin next week at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Eagles, ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA Coaches Poll, have been placed as the top seed in Pool D. Joining Biola in Pool D is No. 9 Lee University (Tenn.), No. 17 Missouri Baptist University and Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.).
Biola is making its sixth-straight trip to the NAIA National Championships and its 12th overall. Biola is 42-21 all-time in the NAIA Tournament and has reached at least the Quarterfinal round in 10 of its previous 11 appearances.
Biola finished second in the Golden State Athletic Conference with a 12-2 record and posted a 27-4 record on the season. Three of its four losses were to teams ranked higher in the NAIA National Poll.
The second seed in the pool is Lee University (Tenn.), which enters the tournament with a 28-9 overall record. The Flames are ranked No. 9 in the NAIA National Rankings and are making their 11th trip to the NAIA National Championships. Lee, which is 19-22 all-time at the NAIA Tournament, earned an automatic berth as the champions of the Southern Stats Athletic Conference tournament.
The two teams met earlier this year in a highly-anticipated NAIA Top 10 showdown during the Concordia Labor Day Festival. After dropping the first set, Biola rallied to take the second set and rolled to a four-set win.
Rounding out the pool are a pair of teams which had to win their opening round matches on Saturday to earn a trip to the final site.
Missouri Baptist University (34-3) is making its fifth NAIA Tournament appearance, earning an at-large berth after finishing second in the American Midwest Conference behind No. 3 Columbia University. The Spartans pulled out an impressive five-set win over Spring Hill College in its opening round match on Saturday, winning 25-16, 21-25, 25-20, 25-27, 15-11.
The pool play match will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Rounding out Pool D is Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) with a record of 28-12. The Blue Raiders are making their second trip to the NAIA National Championships and won their first-ever tournament game with an opening round sweep of Grand View (Iowa) by scores of 25-18, 27-25, 25-16 on Saturday.
Lindsey Wilson earned an automatic berth to the tournament by virtue of winning the Mid-South Tournament. This will also be the first-ever match between Biola and the Blue Raiders.
The NAIA National Tournament Pool Play rounds begin on Tuesday, Nov. 27, and runs through Thursday, Nov. 29. Biola faces Lindsey Wilson on the first day at 1:00 p.m. CT (11:00 am PT). The Eagles then battle Missouri Baptist on Wednesday, also at 1:00 p.m. CT, then wrap up Pool Play on Thursday against Lee University at 3:15 p.m. CT (1:15 p.m. PT).
The top two teams from each pool advance to the bracket portion of the tournament on Friday with the top four remaining seeds earning a first-round bye and advancing directly to the Quarterfinals on Friday night. The semifinals and finals take place on Saturday.
Biola is one of four GSAC teams advancing to the final site, along with top-ranked Concordia, No. 6 The Master's College and No. 11 Westmont. No. 23 Vanguard was knocked off at home in four sets in the opening round on Saturday, falling to No. 20 Cal State San Marcos.
All of Biola's matches at the NAIA Tournament will be streamed live online through the Biola University athletics site. Biola alumni Josh Banker will provide the play-by-play for all matches with a pre-game show beginning approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the match. A link to the broadcast will be made available on the Biola Athletics website. Fans can also follow the action through the Biola Athletics Twitter Feed @BiolaAthletics.
