HONOLULU, Hawaii --- A few months ago, Biola Volleyball gladly welcomed Brandee Markwith's interest when the East Carolina-graduate looked into spending her grad-transfer year with the Eagles. 

Head Coach Aaron Seltzer's staff became familiar with Markwith when the Eagles recruited her out of high school a few years ago. And they saw her go onto three great seasons of competition as the starting libero at an NCAA DI program after Markwith immediately took on the role as a freshman at East Carolina. 

But even though it took a few years for Markwith and the Eagles had to join forces, both sides are grateful that this opportunity presented itself now. Biola gets to strengthen its back row with an experienced veteran while Markwith gets to build on her public health degree by beginning an MBA at a Christian university. 

"Something that makes me really excited about Biola is being able to play the sport I love while being around other believers," said Markwith. "I strongly believe God wants us to continue to build community and fellowship with other believers in our life to grow closer to him."

Markwith helped the Pirates to a 12-1 start this past season and was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on September 29 after her strong return from an injury that kept her out of the 2018 season. In addition to leading her team in service aces over two seasons, Markwith holds the top two single-match records for digs at ECU (40 and 37) and two of the top five spots in the Pirates' single-season digs records, including the program-best 616 in 2017. 

Markwith will come to Biola with the second-most digs in the 43-year history of East Carolina Volleyball (1,572), with 278 career assists and with a strong track record of winning. Markwith's team never had an overall record under .500 at any point during her three seasons of competition. 

She also helped Punahou High School to back-to-back top-three finishes at the Interscholastic League of Hawai'i Tournament, including a state championship in 2014.

Markwith plans to go into healthcare after her time at Biola and is the sixth and final addition to the incoming class for the volleyball program. More information on the incoming 2020-21 class that will join her at Biola can be found on the Committed Athletes page.