IRVINE, Calif. – In their fourth all-time meeting, Concordia (10-10, 3-3 MPSF) and Harvard (5-11, 5-2 EIVA) squared off on Monday night with the Eagles taking down the Crimson in four sets by a score of 25-13, 15-25, 25-21, 25-19. Concordia used the power of their blocking to out block Harvard 10-4, in order to limit the Crimson to a .208 hitting percentage while Concordia hit above their season average at .348.
 
Hunter Howell was up and ready to take a swing at the ball all night long. The middle blocker tallied 14 kills on 20 swings to set a new career-high with a hitting percentage of .700. Along with that, he collected an ace and three blocks, including one solo. Setting him up was Chandler Gibb who dished out 40 assists and also led the Eagles in digs with 15, one off his career-high. Jacob Weiser had 14 digs of his own while Raymond Barsemian had 16 kills, nine digs and three blocks.
 
Harvard grabbed the lead early, going ahead 5-3 before Concordia responded with a statement. The Eagles went on a 9-1 run to double up the Crimson for a 12-6 advantage which included kills from four players, a few Harvard errors and an ace from Gibb that he placed in the back corner of the court. Jonathan Predney put down a kill from the right side and followed with a serve off the tape to take a 20-18 lead before Howell collected back-to-back kills to gain more separation for Concordia. Owen Chun checked in and earned a kill right away, which rotated Isaiah Kaaa to the front row to get consecutive blocks with Taylor Falduti and end the set on a 4-0 run.
 
After Concordia's strong start in the first set, Harvard got going in the second with their tough serving. The Crimson collected five aces in the set while taking the Eagles out of system for a majority of the set. Harvard came out to a 6-1 lead before Concordia responded with four-straight points. An 8-2 run for the Crimson had them doubled-up on CUI at 14-7 and forced them into using both of their timeouts. Two Howell points brought Concordia within five which then went in the opposite direction with Harvard going on a 6-2 run and ahead by nine. A Predney kill and a Darcy Taig kill set up by serving substitute Jonathan Carlson made the score 23-15, but Harvard struck taking the final two points to even up the match.
 
There was a recurring theme of Harvard going ahead early 5-3 in the third set. A 5-2 run for Concordia put them ahead 8-7 from the contribution of Howell and Taig. Harvard went on a 6-1 run to retake the lead at 13-9, but Concordia outdid them with a 9-3 run to switch the momentum in their favor. Taig got a kill from the right side which Gibb responded with his second ace of the night to get a three-point separation at 21-18. Back-to-back Predney kills gave the Eagles set point with Howell finishing the set off with a kill.
 
Concordia was able to get off to a hot start for the first time in a set in the fourth, leading 4-0.  Harvard would whittle their way back to stay within two-three points for most of the set. The Eagles would gain a six-point advantage midway, leading 17-11 after a solo block by Gibb, multiple Harvard errors and kills by Howell and Predney. Concordia used kills from Falduti and Howell to get ahead 23-18 and consecutive errors for Harvard sealed the match and gave Concordia their tenth win of the season.
 
Next Up: Concordia returns to conference play where they will travel to UCLA on March 14^th and follow that with a trip to Pepperdine on March 15^th. Live stream and live stats will be available for each game.