SIOUX CITY, Iowa --- For the 13th time in program history, the Eagles are headed to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Volleyball National Championship. 

The Eagles' last trip to the championship in Sioux City was last season, when they won four matches to advance to the tournament semifinals, where they were eliminated by Concordia (Calif.).

Biola's 13 appearances tie them with BYU-Hawai'i and Madonna for the seventh most championship appearances in the history of NAIA volleyball. Eight of those 13 national tournament appearances have come under the reign of Head Coach Aaron Seltzer, who has also led Biola to four national semifinal matches.

Entering this season's tournament the Eagles have a 46-22 overall record in matches played at the national level. Their .676 winning percentage at the tournament falls just below their .747 overall winning percentage since Seltzer took over in 2002.

The Eagles enter the tournament as the No. 3 team in the final NAIA national rankings, and they are coming off one of their most successful regular seasons in program history. They finished the season 22-3 and finished second in the Golden State Athletic Conference after going 12-2 in conference play. Their only losses this season came to the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation, Texas-Brownsville and Concordia (Calif.). They earned a berth to the tournament as the highest at-large bid.

Biola has made it out of pool play in all but one of their trips to the national tournament. Up until their 2009 finish, their worst finish at the national tournament was a loss in the quarterfinals. Since the 2009 setback the Eagles have advanced to the quarterfinals twice and semifinals once.

Biola is the highest-ranked team in this season's pool, which includes No. 10 Lindsey Wilson, No. 15 Dordt and (RV) Indiana Wesleyan. The Eagles have met each of these teams once in the past, and they have a combined three victories against the group, with no losses. It is a small sample size, but it gives more reason for the No. 3 Eagles to be confident.

Dec. 3 marks the beginning of the pool play schedule, as BU takes on Indiana Wesleyan at 3:45 p.m. The Wildcats finished the season 29-10 and won the Crossroads league championship to earn their automatic bid the the national tournament. They had an identical in-conference record as Bethel, but beat them in the championship match to advance to national play. The Wildcats swept (RV) Bryan in opening round play in order to advance to the final site play. IWU boasts three all-conference first team players along with the Crossroads league player of the year, libero of the year and freshman of the year. The Wildcats have one of the best setters (Katey Holler) and liberos (Rebecca Brandes) in the nation; both players rank in the top 10 in the NAIA in significant statistical categories.

Pool play continues with BU's Dec. 4 matchup with Dordt, also at 3:45 p.m. Dordt finished its year 23-7 after compiling a 12-4 conference record and defeating Cardinal Stritch 3-1 in opening round play. The Defenders struggled near the end of the season, losing twice to No. 5 Northwestern and getting eliminated in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals. Despite their team name, the Defenders' key component is their ability to attack. They are the No. 4 team in the nation in hitting percentage (.288) and they find themselves in the top 30 in kills and assists. Dordt landed its libero, setter and an outside hitter on the All-GPAC first team this season. That outside hitter, Brooke Wolterstorff, was also named the conference's freshman of the year. 

Wrapping up pool play is a Dec. 5 match against Lindsey Wilson. Biola and the Blue Raiders square off at 6 p.m. inside the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena. Lindsey Wilson is the only other team in Biola's pool that earned an opening round bye and automatic trip to the national championship final site. They finished the season 36-3 and a perfect 18-0 in the Mid-South Conference. They did lose one match to a conference foe, and that was a 3-2 loss to Georgetown in the MSC tournament final. LWU's other two losses came in an early-season upset by the University of Northwestern Ohio and a 0-3 loss to Texas-Brownsville. They boast four All-MSC first team selections along with the conference player of the year and freshman of the year. They, along with Dordt and BU, make for three teams inside the top 10 in the NAIA in hitting percentage, as they sit at No. 3 (.289).
 All Biola matches will have a FREE live audio stream at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/biola.portal#. High-definition video of the matches will be available in the ON DEMAND section of the site following the conclusion of each match.

The NAIA and NeuLion teamed up to offer live video of every match at the national tournament. Registration and payment information can be found here.