It was a battle of two Irvine schools on Wednesday night as Concordia hosted a non-conference game against No. 6 UC Irvine. This match-up went in favor of the Anteaters, who triumphed in four by a score of 25-13, 25-18, 15-25, 25-13.
 
Hunter Howell held steady for the Eagles, recording a match-high five blocks while hitting .467 with eight kills. Raymond Barsemian had a season-high 17 kills, six digs and three aces. The reigning MPSF/Molten Offensive Player of the Week Chandler Gibb recorded his third double-double of the season as he collected 28 assists and 10 digs.
 
UC Irvine showed why they are a top ten team as they surged out to a 7-0 lead in first set. Concordia stopped the bleeding with a tap down on an overpass from Jonathan Predney putting them on the board. Both teams traded points for most of the set as it consisted mainly of kills and service errors. A service error by UCI made it 16-10 before the Anteaters went on a 9-3 run to close it out.
 
There was no cooling down the UCI hitters going into the second as they put themselves on top at 3-0. Three points from Barsemian brought the Eagles back into the set down 4-3, but consistent play from the Anteaters extended their lead to 8-3. Concordia crept back into it after Gibb dished out a crosscourt backset on his knees that led to a kill, making it 10-7. UC Irvine was able to extend the lead again, but Concordia gained momentum off of tough serving from Howell, resulting in an overpass kill by Gibb, who then teamed up with Alec Krilis for a block making it 18-16. However, the UCI hitters stayed hot as the Anteaters took the last four points of the set to win 25-18.
 
Concordia found their rhythm in the third when they bolted out to a 6-1 lead courtesy of four UC Irvine hitting errors, a Barsemian kill, and a crowd-pleasing block by Howell and Parker Maki. The Eagles expanded their lead to 10-2 before Barsemian served back-to-back aces, making it 12-2. The Anteaters chipped away at the Eagles' lead as unforced errors brought the score to 15-7 before each team sided-out until 21-12. An out serve by UCI and a block by Howell and Predney sealed the set and extended the match.
 
Much of the Eagles' offense was contained in the start of the fourth as the Anteaters' block came alive. A service error by UCI followed by a Barsemian ace brought CUI within one at 5-4 before the teams continued to trade points. Midway through the set, UC Irvine went on a 7-0 run forcing two Concordia timeouts. The Eagles responded with a 4-1 run from two Anteater errors, a kill by Barsemian and a block by Howell and Logan Glave. However, UC Irvine kept the momentum the rest of the way as they took the last five points, ending it at 25-13.
 
Concordia falls to 2-2 on the season while UC Irvine improves to 7-1. The Eagles will host an NAIA opponent in Hope International on January 29^th before heading on the road to Long Beach State on February 2^nd.