LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Volleyball begins its first NCAA Division II and PacWest Conference season in just over one week. In advance of the new season the PacWest Conference coaches came together to release a preseason coaches' poll with the predicted finish for each of the conference's 14 teams.
 
The coaches' votes awarded Biola 101 total points, placing the Eagles with a predicted finish of ninth in the conference. Biola had a 25-point advantage over the 10^th-place team Fresno Pacific.
 
"We're excited to be coming into the PacWest this year," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "It will be great to be in a very competitive conference. It will be exciting to see the new schools and also get back to the old rivalries we've had. We're looking forward to some tough competition this year."
 
Concordia University Irvine was picked to repeat as the conference champions after going 17-3 in PacWest matches one year ago. They earned 189 points in the poll. California Baptist, which is competing its final season in the PacWest before transitioning to NCAA Division I, was not far behind the Eagles of Irvine, bringing in 179 points and finishing second in the poll. Azusa Pacific was picked to finish fourth and was one of three institutions to have a first-place vote.
 
Along with the preseason rankings, the conference released its preseason all-conference team and predicted award winners. CBU took two out of the three major awards with outside hitter Lauren Hackett predicted to be the conference player of the year and setter Sydney Kralj selected as the preseason setter of the year. The Lancers were the only team with multiple players selected to the 7-player preseason all-conference lineup.
 
Biola will have a lot to prove in its first season in the conference. With zero players selected for preseason honors and a relatively low preseason ranking the Eagles will have a chance to prove their worth on the court and hopefully end up a few spots further up the standings.
 
With an all-time winning percentage of over 70 percent (dating back to 1969) the Eagles are used to winning and winning a lot. You'll have a chance to see the winning tradition continue when Biola kicks off its home regular season schedule against Point Loma on Saturday Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m.