IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia men's volleyball team earned their first-ever MPSF conference win on Thursday night in a sweep over Stanford by a score of 25-17, 25-16, 25-23.
It was a Concordia block-party all night long as the Eagles out blocked the Cardinal 12-3, led by
Taylor Falduti, who tied his career-high with nine blocks. Not only did Concordia play well on defense in the front row, but they did well in the back row as the reigning MPSF Defensive Player of the Week,
Jacob Weiser, had a match-high 10 digs.
Darcy Taig went errorless on the night, collecting nine kills on 14 swings and hit .643.
The Eagles came right out of the gates gunning out to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Two kills by
Jonathan Predney and multiple Cardinal errors extended the Eagle lead to 10-3. Points from Falduti, Predney and Taig gave Concordia a seven-point lead at 18-11 before teams traded points leading up to the end of the set, which ended with a Cardinal service error.
Stanford took the first two points of the second set, but Concordia responded right away with blocks from Taig and Falduti, while Falduti then teamed up with Barsemian for two more. The Eagles went on a 4-1 run consisting of more Falduti blocks, but the Cardinal responded with three points of their own to come within two at 9-7. Concordia was able to widen their lead to six as Falduti served an ace, making it 18-12 and forcing a Stanford timeout. The Eagles maintained the lead and closed the set with a 3-0 run ending with a solo block on a joust from
Chandler Gibb.
The match came down to the wire in an intense third set. Both teams went head-to-head before Concordia jumped out to a 12-8 lead and caused a Stanford timeout. The Cardinal responded with a 5-1 run that contained a play where Weiser had a crowd-pleasing kick save to keep the ball in. Although the Eagles held a three-point lead late in the set, the Cardinal fought their way back to tie the set 23-23, A Stanford service error gave Concordia match point and Falduti ended it with a solo block, giving Concordia the win.
Concordia is 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the MPSF while Stanford is 2-11 overall and 0-2 in the conference. The Eagles will host BYU for the first time on Saturday at 1 PM. This will be the second meeting all-time as Concordia traveled to Provo, Utah last season.
