THIS WEEK: vs. Regis (Colo.) (0-0); at Alaska Anchorage (0-0); vs. UC San Diego (0-0); vs. Concord (W.V.) (0-0) at Seawolf Invitational, hosted by Alaska Anchorage (Anchorage, Alaska).

MULTIMEDIA: Both live video and live stats will be provided by UAA for each of Biola's four matches for this opening week. See the links below.

BIOLA vs. REGIS (0-0): Friday Sept. 6 at 12:30 p.m. PT \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
The 2019 Biola Volleyball season opener features a first-time opponent in Regis University (Colo.). The Eagles and Rangers go toe-to-toe in what will be Biola's first match and the Rangers' second. Regis faces hosts Alaska Anchorage at 9 p.m. the night before. Regis is a strong NCAA DIvision II program, going 31-4 in 2017 and making a deep NCAA tournament run. They'll be looking to bounce back after a down year in 2018, where RU went 19-10 and got bounced early in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament. The Rangers were recently picked to finish fourth in the 2019 RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Regis returns nine players from its 2018 roster and bring in eight new players, including two who sat out as redshirts in 2018. Five of the nine returners earned all-conference honors last year. They will be led by two-time All-American middle blocker Nikki Kennedy. Biola Volleyball is connected to Regis by Brinley Beresford, who played her freshman season for the Rangers in 2015 before transferring to Biola for three standout seasons through 2018.

BIOLA at ALASKA ANCHORAGE (0-0): Friday Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. PT \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Biola draws the host school for its second match of the season. The Eagles will meet the Seawolves of Alaska Anchorage for yet another first-time matchup. UAA finished 2018 with a 21-7 overall record and 14-6 mark in Greater Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. There was no postseason for the Seawolves, who've been picked for a third-place finish in the 2019 GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Seawolves were third behind two NCAA tournament teams, Western Washington and Central Washington. They finished just three points ahead of the NCAA's only Canadian team Simon Fraser. Prior to last season's letdown UAA had made five-consecutive NCAA Tournament trips. Alaska Anchorage is led by Chris Green, entering his 12th season as lead man. The Seawolves return four starters from last season, including GNAC Freshman of the Year, Eve Stephens, a right-side hitter. Stephens is not the only GNAC annual award winner on the UAA roster. The Seawolves are getting back the 2015 GNAC Newcomer of the Year, Kayla McGlathery, who comes back after taking four years off. McGlathery, a middle blocker, is in the same boat as Biola's Becca Branch, a senior setter returning in 2019 for the first time since her freshman season in 2015. 

BIOLA vs. UC SAN DIEGO (0-0): Saturday Sept. 7 at 11:30 a.m. PT \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
UC San Diego is Biola's first repeat opponent on this 2019 volleyball schedule. It will likely be the last time the two programs meet as well, with the Tritons set to become a NCAA Division I institution next year. Biola holds a 10-9 all-time record against UCSD, but the most recent matchup between the two sides was way back in 1997, a year where the Eagles went 31-7 under then-head coach Robin Davis. The Eagles beat the Tritons 3-1 in that preseason matchup. UCSD was picked to finish third in the south division of the California Collegiate Athletic Association in the recent CCAA Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Tritons' point total was tied for ninth among all schools in both divisions. UCSD went 11-12 overall in 2018 and was just 7-10 in CCAA play, equating for no postseason berth for the first time since 2014. The Tritons are led by 10th-year head coach Ricci Luyties. UCSD returns nine players from last year's roster and brings in seven newcomers, including three transfers. Among the transfers are some student-athletes with an NCAA DIvision I pedigree - Emily Hubbard from Tulsa and Trinity Castaneda from Hawai'i. UCSD also has a Biola connection through senior outside hitter Cindy Tran, who played her first two collegiate seasons against Biola at Concordia Irvine. Tran was one of the Tritons' three all-conference players last year.

BIOLA vs. CONCORD (0-0): Saturday Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. PT \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Yes, you read that right. The final match of opening week is against Concord University in West Virginia - not one of the five Concordia schools Biola Volleyball has a history with. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Eagles and Mountain Lions. Concord makes the cross-country trip looking to begin their season strong after a 7-25 season in 2018. The Mountain Lions are 64-101 over the last five seasons and compete as part of the Mountain East Conference. Concord was recently chosen to finish ninth in the MEC in the Mountain East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. They compete under 11-year head coach Kate Dillon. Fourteen of Concord's 17 players are returning from last season. The three newcomers are all true freshman for the Mountain Lions. 

SEAWOLF INVITATIONAL: This is the 23rd edition of UAA's preseason tournament. They've hosted the tournament all but twice since the 2008 season. The event will be hosted at Alaska Anchorage's Alaska Airlines Center. It's Biola's first time competing at the Seawolf Invitational. More information on UAA's ticketing can be found at this ticket information link.

POLL POSITION: Biola Volleyball was selected third in the recent PacWest Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Eagles sat behind Azusa Pacific (142 points, 10 first-place votes) and Chaminade (124 points, 1 first-place vote). The Eagles received one first-place vote and had 115 total points. BU placed a narrow second the PacWest standings a year ago, with their 19-3 PacWest mark just one match back from champion APU's 20-2 record. Junior Sami Hover earned Preseason Libero of the Year honors after landing on the All-PacWest second team a year ago. She comes into her junior year just one dig away from 1,000 career digs. She's got a legitimate chance at 2,000 if she can replicate last season's 600+ dig effort over her last two years. The Eagles come into the 2019 season slated somewhere around seventh or eighth in the NCAA Division II West Region. 

IT'S GO TIME: The 2019 Biola Volleyball season has added significance in that it's the Eagles' first as full members in NCAA Division II. Back on July 12 the Biola campus received a call from the NCAA Division II Membership Committee notifying BU of its successful completion of the membership transition process. The change became official as of September 1 and now Biola is officially eligible for NCAA postseason play, national and regional rankings and official NCAA postseason honors for the first time. With no conference tournament, the Eagles will have to finish in the top-8 in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings to be able to get that first taste of NCAA postseason play.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD: The 2019 Biola Volleyball roster has an entirely different look than the NCCAA Championship-winning 2018 squad. Biola had key departures at almost every position and brought in its largest recruiting class in years. The most noticeable differences will be the missing 2018 PacWest Player of the Year Sierra Bauder, the do-it-all wunderkind Christina DenBoer, the 1,000+ kill right side Karly Dantuma and three-year starting setter Brinley Beresford. BUT Biola also has a strong returning base with senior leaders Sabrina Winslow and Kaitlin O'Brien and the always sharp Sami Hover back to anchor the back row. Aside from those three Biola returns five other letterwinners and will get a first-look at 2018 redshirt setters Abby Brewster and Marissa Price. The incoming class features eight incoming freshmen and a returning senior in Becca Branch who's back to the game after taking four seasons off. Three of those eight freshmen will redshirt. Two of the eight are younger siblings of former Biola Volleyball All-Americans. Right-side hitter Jillian Gallarda is the younger sister of standout setter and current lead assistant coach Gracee Teague ('13). Redshirt outside hitter Dominique Kirton is the younger sister of two-sports All-American Joclyn Kirton ('17). The five freshmen who will see time on the floor in 2019 are a mix of one outside hitter, one right side and three really tall middles. 

UPCOMING MILESTONES:
Becca Branch - 400 assists (327)
Vanessa Garcia - 1,000 assists (968)
Vanessa Garcia - 50 service aces (40)
Vanessa Garcia - 500 digs (284)
Savannah Hilde - 300 kills (229)
Savannah Hilde - 50 matches (44)
Sami Hover - 100 matches (71)
Sami Hover - 75 service aces (53)
Sami Hover - 1,000 digs (999) (school record: 2,097)
Kaitlin O'Brien - 150 assists (144)
Kaitlin O'Brien - 150 service aces (124) (school record: 182)
Bekah Roth - 100 matches (70)
Bekah Roth - 500 kills (377)
Bekah Roth - 100 service aces (74)
Bekah Roth - 300 total blocks (236)
Sabrina Winslow - 800 kills (624)
Sabrina Winslow - 50 service aces (37)
Sabrina Winslow - 500 digs (406)
Sabrina Winslow - 150 blocks (112)

THE ROAD TO 1,100: Biola Volleyball is 1,076-442 all-time. The Eagles have a chance to notch win number 1,100 this season with a solid showing. Biola needs 24 wins to do it and has averaged 27 wins per year in Head Coach Aaron Seltzer's 17-year tenure. A good season will also put Seltzer within a handful of wins of 500 when the season is all done. He enters 2019 with an all-time coaching mark of 462-139 (.768).

NEW STAFF: Seltzer's coaching staff has doubled from its 2018 size. He and lead assistant Gracee Teague did it along in 2018 but add Alex Leja and Sierra Bauder for 2019. Bauder, of course, was on the team last season and won conference player of the year. Leja is no stranger to Biola, having been groomed as a player and assistant coach at Vanguard University from 2009-15 before serving as head coach at NCAA Division III Alma College from 2016-18. 

BIRD STREAK COUNTER: Biola Volleyball has won 37 consecutive matches against teams with a bird mascot. The Eagles have not lost to another bird species (or fictional bird species) since the 2014 season. Biola enters the 2019 season with eight bird matchups on tap, all in PacWest Conference play. The first matchup is the PacWest opener on the road at Holy Names on Sept. 20. The toughest test seems to be Concordia Irvine, which won the PacWest Championship in 2016 and is on its way back towards the top after two tough years in '17 and '18. CUI is also the last bird-related team to have a win over Biola (9/20/14).

NEXT WEEK: Alaska Anchorage, #2 CSU San Bernardino, Simon Fraser, RV CSU San Marcos (at NCAA Division II West Region Showcase, hosted by CSU San Bernardino)