LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Earlier today No. 5 Biola Volleyball learned it would advance directly to the 2015 NAIA National Championship Tournament Final Site, and the news just kept on coming when the Eagles found that four student-athletes were honored as a part of the 2015 all-conference team presented by Under Armour.
 
The Golden State Athletic Conference awarded Britta Blaser, Christina DenBoer, Joclyn Kirton and Alyssa Mason with All-GSAC recognition based off their regular season performance this season.
 
It is Kirton and Mason's third all-conference honors and a first for both Blaser and DenBoer.
 
The honor comes as a tremendous reward after a stunning senior season for Blaser. She's accumulated 243 kills through 29 matches this season, which places her 10^th in the conference in that category. Some of her best play has come late in the year as she ended with double-digit kill outputs in three of her final five matches.
 
Blaser also saw great improvement in her attack efficiency this season as her .284 attack percentage is a new career-best. She's also on pace to set a new career-best in blocks. Her 60 total blocks to this point is 15^th in the GSAC.
 
"I'm really excited for Britta because she has come a long way in growing as a player," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "She's been so heavily offensively focused throughout her whole career, so it is good to see how well rounded her play has become."
 
DenBoer gets her first all-conference honor at the end of her first collegiate season. The freshman has had a very steady year outside for Seltzer, which has helped make Mason's transition to middle blocker a smooth one.
 
She ended the regular season with 195 kills in 27 matches played and hit .236 overall. Two of her most remarkable individual performances came against two of the toughest opponents of the season as she posted 16 kills against Park (Mo.) and a season-best 19 in Biola's early-season win over Westmont.
 
"Christina has had a studly freshman year," said Seltzer. "I think that because of how well she came in and did, the impact she has made has allowed us so much flexibility on our team. When your freshmen are good, your program is going to be good. She will be a big contributor for many years."
 
Kirton claims her third all-conference honor and will look for a third NAIA All-American honor after the Eagles are done at the NAIA National Tournament. She finished 21^st in the nation in overall hitting percentage (.340) after leading the nation for much of the year. That attack percentage is already .081 better than any other year in her career.
 
She appeared in 29 matches during her senior season and compiled 310 kills. Another 59 kills during national championship play would mean a new career high for the dominant outside hitter.
 
"What is there not to say about Joclyn," said Seltzer. "Obviously she's one of the most feared outside hitters in the country. She's got one of the quickest arm swings you are ever going to see. She always does a great job leading the team and is such a blessing to coach. She's so consistent and is one of those special players that do not come along very often."
 
Biola's fourth all-conference player is Mason, who earns the award while leading the country in hitting percentage (.465) after her first collegiate season at middle blocker.
 
Mason had a strong start to the season before having to battle some injury issues that limited her to just 24 matches. When she returned from missing those matches she was easily the best player in the nation as she worked her way to 257 kills and a career-best 93 total blocks. She averaged 3.10 kills-per-set and 1.12 blocks-per-set as she pretty much did whatever she wanted to against GSAC competition this season.
 
"We were really impressed with how well Alyssa transitioned from the outside into the middle," said Seltzer. "That has been a huge success of ours. Her making that transition really solidified our team. It made us more balanced. It was not an easy thing for her to do, but she's made it look like she's been running middle forever."
 
These four will lead the rest of the team to Sioux City, Iowa as the Eagles are the No. 5 seed at the NAIA National Championship Tournament Final Site Dec. 1-5.