LA MIRADA, Calif. --- It was a crazy day filled with aces, blocks, rotations and kills as 12 games were played on two courts inside of Chase Gymnasium.
 
Biola Volleyball walked away with two wins on day one of the 2013 BU Volleyball/Red Lion Hotel-Anaheim Summer Slam tournament. The Eagles picked 3-1 wins in both games over some stiff competition.
 
They faced Southern Oregon in the first match, and got off to a hot start by winning the first set 25-20. Accuracy on their attacks helped the Eagles get the opening set win over the Raiders, they had 15 kills on 33 attacks.
 
Things got a little bit tricky for Biola in set number two as they saw their lead in the match slip away after a 20-25 loss. BU opened the set strong, scoring eight of the first nine points, but then SOU took over and scored 12 of the next 14.
 
The Eagles notched the win in their first match of the season after sweeping sets three and four (25-13, 25-15) to down the Raiders.
 
"This was the first game of the year, it was good and ugly at the same time," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "It was like watching 'Deadliest Catch,' when they are stuck in the waves and not going anywhere."
 
Despite the rust, BU put up some impressive numbers as they got the first game out of the way. Alyssa Mason, sophomore outside hitter, led the team with 15 kills in her first game after transferring from Pepperdine. Liz Madden and Mona Goudarzian led the Raiders with seven kills each.
 
Nicolette Douglas played in just three of the four sets, but still managed to put some impressive numbers up with four digs and 11 assists. Gracee Gallarda led the team with 36 assists, and she currently ranks eigth in Biola history with just over 2,600 assists.
 
After a few hour break the team returned t the court for their nightcap against the No. 6 Yotes of the College of Idaho. This was the first matchup of two top 10 NAIA teams in 2013.
 
The Eagles came on to the court for the second game and did not look the same. The focus and intensity seemed to be missing as the Yotes rolled over them for a 25-13 first set win.
 
Eight attack errors with only nine kills did not help the cause, as Biola's errors led to a .029 attack pct in the opening set.
 
The switch was flipped back on in the second set as BU bumped its attack pct all the way up to .429 and recorded 18 kills. Amy Weststeyn, junior middle blocker, made all the difference for the Eagles in the first two sets as she picked up seven of her team-leading 16 kills.
 
The momentum continued on the court into set three, although the Yotes were able to creep a little closer, losing by just six points.
 
The intensity that was lacking early on definitely appeared as the match progressed into the fourth set and Biola was just 25 points away from a second straight victory.
 
It became such a nail-biter that both teams were causing temporary hearing issues for anyone in their general vicinity whenever they celebrated a point.
 
The final set was literally back and forth from the opening serve, as the lead changed or the game was tied 30 different times. Despite the frequent changing of hands, the lead eventually rested solely in the hands of Biola as they picked up a 25-23 mark in set four.
 
"College of Idaho is a solid team," said Seltzer. "They were very good at the end, but we just had to run our middles, we did, and they did a great job."
 
Weststeyn, Mason and Chelsee Arnitz each had 10+ kills and Gallarda added 46 assists to lead the Eagles to a 2-0 record heading into day two of the 2013 Biola Volleyball/Red Lion Hotel-Anaheim summer slam.
 
BU takes on No. 16 Westmont and Concordia (Ore.) at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. tomorrow.