Eagles move to 5-0 with sweep of Western New Mexico
Kelly Dullard
Box Score IRVINE, Calif. -- Concordia Irvine, fresh off winning their Labor Day Classic Tournament over the weekend, hit .266 and spun in 10 service aces on their way to defeating Western New Mexico University, 3-0 (23-25, 17-25, 16-25), Monday afternoon.
Following a close first set, Concordia Irvine (5-0) was able to pull away hitting .333 and .286 over the final two sets. The opening set was a back-and-forth battle. The Eagles went up 10-6, but WNMU (3-2) came back to take a 13-12 lead on two service aces. Concordia Irvine began to pull away at 21-18 but the Mustangs climbed back to tie it at 23 following a solo block. The Eagles steadied the ship with a kill and the set ended on an attack error by WNMU giving CUI the 25-23 opening set win.
The Eagles jumped out quick again in the second moving in front 9-3. CUI would never relinquish the lead, closing the set on a 7-1 run for the 25-17 win.
In a theme followed throughout the afternoon, Concordia jumped out to a quick lead in the third set ahead 9-2. The Eagles would extend the lead eventually taking the set and the match at 25-16.
WNMU was led by Heather Verrill with eight kills and Ashley Mataele with 11 digs.
Rachel Flynn paced CUI with 14 kills and hit .520 while Taylor Dennison tallied 10 digs. The Eagles led the way in most of the categories including kills (37-30), assists (35-25), service aces (10-2) and blocks (8-5).
The Eagles leave Wednesday for Turlock, California to compete in the NCAA Division II West Region Showcase, hosted by Stanislaus State. They will play four matches in three days. They face Western Oregon on Thursday, Chico State on Friday and then play both Alaska and host Stanislaus State on Saturday.
