LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Head Coach Aaron Seltzer is prepared to lead his Biola Volleyball team into battle for the 17th season as he announces his 2018 season schedule. The Eagles will play their second season in the PacWest Conference and will look to improve from their second-place finish from one year ago.

Biola begins its season with two non-conference tournaments before kicking off PacWest Conference play at home against Fresno Pacific on Sept. 8.

The first of those two tournaments runs from August 24-25 in Nampa, Idaho as the Eagles participate in the Fairfield Inn Invitational hosted by Northwest Nazarene University. They'll play former conference foe, Dixie State, and also face CSU Monterey Bay and the hosts NNU during this first weekend.

The next weekend is the most important on the calendar as the Eagles will participate in the top group at the NCAA DIvision II West Region Showcase. This tournament is hosted by Azusa Pacific and will allow the Eagles to measure up against three ranked teams (No. 7 Western Washington, No. 13 CSU San Bernardino and No. 17 NNU).

After that it's all conference competition for Biola as they play a balanced 22-match PacWest schedule as part of  the new-look 12-team conference.

The top conference matches will come against Biola's biggest rival, Azusa Pacific. BU and APU tied for second in the PacWest a year ago with 15-5 conference marks. Biola hosts the Cougars October 3 for the first Cornerstone Cup meeting of the 2018-19 school year. The second half of the rivalry matchup is played in the Felix Event Center on October 24.

Concordia University Irvine joins Biola and APU in the mix for the 2018 PacWest Conference title. The green and gold Eagles are Biola's eighth opponents of the first conference go-around. Biola hosts CUI on Sept. 26 and return the match in Irvine on Oct. 20. Biola is 41-20 all-time against CUI and has won the last three matches dating back to the 2014 season.

The PacWest Conference does not have a postseason tournament and Biola is still ineligible for NCAA postseason competition, so the season will once again end with the National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship.

Biola must finish near the top of the PacWest to qualify for the NCCAA tournament. If they qualify, the Eagles will have a chance to repeat their 2017 national title with some victories at the 2018 tournament held Nov. 29 - Dec. 1 at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri.

For more information on the program, visit the Biola Volleyball page.