Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 IRVINE, Calif. --- Biola kept its winning ways going, recording its eighth-straight victory by sweeping past UC Merced and Westminster College (Utah) to kick off the 2012 Concordia University Labor Day Festival on Friday at the CUI Arena in Irvine.

The Eagles improve to 9-1 with the pair of wins, downing UC Merced 25-18, 25-13, 25-13 and breezing past Westminster 25-17, 25-8, 25-17.

Thirteen different Biola players recorded a kill as all 19 of the Eagles' active players saw action on the day. 

A pair of freshmen led the way for Biola in the first match which was its second contest against the Bobcats of UC Merced on the young season. Outside hitter Britta Blaser recorded a team-best eight kills and added a block to pace the Biola attack with right-side hitter Crissy Cunningham contributing seven kills in 13 swings with no errors. She also had a pair of blocks. 

The Eagles got off to a quick start in the first set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead with senior middle blocker Rachel Buckley recording a pair of kills and adding a block. However, the Bobcats battled back and pulled to within two at 13-11. After exchanging points, the Eagles then pulled away with a quick 6-1 run and held on for a 25-18 win.

Biola opened with leads of 12-3 and 10-4 to start the second and third sets, respectively, and cruised from there, winning each 25-13.

The Eagles, who rank in the top 10 in the NAIA in attack percentage, posted a .378 mark against UC Merced, recording 43 kills and committing just nine errors in 90 total attacks. Biola added eight blocks including four by Buckley, who also was 5-for-9 with no errors in the contest.

Biola had another solid hitting match in the second game of the day, a dominating performance against a strong Westminster team. The Griffins entered the match with a 7-1 record including a hard-fought five-set win over The Master's College earlier in the day. 

The match got off to a great start for the Eagles, who scored three-straight to start the match and held an early 10-6 edge. Westminster hung around and close to within one at 11-10, but Biola maintained the lead and slowly pulled away late. After the Griffins cut the lead to two at 18-16, the Eagles got a kill from Christine Douglas followed by back-to-back aces by Emily Weingartner to take a 21-16 advantage and held on for the 25-17 win.

Biola rolled in the second set, dominating from start to finish. The Eagles opened on a 7-1 run and never looked back, allowing Westminster twice in the set, cruising to a 25-8 win. 

Biola kept the momentum going in the third set, jumping out to a 12-5 lead in the deciding game. Westminster wasn't ready to give up, though and cut the lead to one with a 7-1 run to make it a 13-12 game. The Eagles would respond with a 5-1 run of their own and scored 12 of the final 17 points overall to pick up the 25-17 win.

Douglas and sophomore middle blocker Amy Weststeyn each had eight kills to lead the Eagles with senior right-side hitter Nicolette Mather and freshman outside hitter Joclyn Kirton each adding seven. Weststeyn had a match-high four blocks with Mather contributing three. Biola out-blocked the Griffins 8-2.

The Eagles face a daunting challenge on Saturday, facing No. 3 Lee University (Tenn.) at 1:00 p.m. then closing out the tournament against Northwestern College (Iowa) at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are perennial NAIA Tournament teams with Lee reaching the NAIA Semifinals last season while Northwestern was one of the top three teams two seasons ago.

Live stats will be available for both of Biola's matches and are available at http://quickstream.biola.edu/livesports/volleyball/xlive.htm.