Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola's 2014 Volleyball season-opener finished in a similar fashion to the way it started, with complete surprise.
 
The No. 2 Eagles took on unranked Viterbo, a team that spent much of the last two days carving up Golden State Athletic Conference teams like a turkey at Sunday brunch. However, those matches featured other GSAC teams, not the returning National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics runner-up, Biola.
 
The Eagles took a little time to get used to the attack of the V-Hawks and it cost them a shocking 25-23 loss in the first set. This surprise was just the first of three strikes Viterbo would fire before eventually taking a 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 25-16, 14-25, 15-7) win in a thrilling five-set affair.
 
"We certainly lost to a better team that outplayed and outcoached us," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "I thought we looked a little timid and we just have to work through some things and get better as the year goes on."
 
The key to the first set win and the eventual match win was the V-Hawks impressive outside hitter, Alicia Olson. Olson was hitting lasers into the hardwood with precision all afternoon long, gathering seven kills in the first set, nine in the second, 10 in the third, four in the fourth and five in the clincher, for a total of 35 in the match.
 
She hit for nearly 45 percent and tacked on eight digs while making her teammate, Brianna Brinkman, look like an All-American with 61 assists.
 
"Olson is probably one of the top-three outside hitters in the country, and today she played like it. We simply did not have an answer for her," said Seltzer.
 
Biola seemed to be just a step behind through most of the first three sets, despite being able to pick up a game win in the second frame. Then, after a big third-set loss came out on fire in the fourth.
 
The Eagles hit .643 with 18 kills in the fourth set, while the V-Hawks to a big step back and hit just .267 with barely double-digit daggers.
 
Alyssa Mason, Britta Blaser and Amy Weststeyn formed a three-headed attacking monster in the fourth set, combining for 13 of the Eagles' kills while helping Biola go the entire set without an attacking error.
 
Weststeyn was up to her usual brilliance all night long, especially when the tension in the arena was at its peak. She ended with 21 kills, two service aces and three blocks while hitting an exceptional .750.
 
Newcomers Ashton Arbuthnot and Allison Spencer used that frame to show off their setting ability, combining for 13 assists. The pair tallied a combined 55 assists on the afternoon, splitting the work almost exactly down the middle.
 
Momentum was definitely wavering in the direction of Biola headed into the fifth set, but Olson and the V-Hawks found their second wind and were able to flip the script as they hit .556 and held the Eagles to a match-worst .176 mark in a convincing win.
 
It's proven to be a very successful west-coast road-trip for the V-Hawks who may soon consider moving their campus to Southern California after the success they've had. They improve to 5-0 on the season and help the Eagles start the year 0-1 for the first time since a 2011 loss to Rocky Mountain College.
 
The loss is a disappointment, but there was plenty to take away from the game, including the emergence of Biola's two new setters and a strong start from the Eagles' other newcomer Tess Van Grouw.
 
"Allison, Ashton and Tess did a great job in their first match with us tonight," said Seltzer. ""Our two freshman played outstanding. There were some first-game jitters, but overall they had a great game and I liked what I saw."
 
Viterbo returns to play inside Chase Gymnasium on Monday for a match with Westmont, while Biola has until Thursday to sort things out. They begin play at the 2014 Biola Volleyball/Red Lion-Anaheim Summer Slam tournament on Aug. 21 at 2 p.m.