No. 14 Concordia swept at No. 4 UCLA
Troy Makalena
LOS ANGELES, Calif – Almost a year to the day, Concordia went on the road to face their future conference opponent UCLA, taking the nationally ranked Bruins to five sets. On Wednesday night, No. 14 Concordia (10-11, 3-4 MPSF) looked to upset and avenge No. 4 UCLA (17-4, 6-2 MPSF) after falling to them in three in the MPSF season opener in early February, but the Eagles could not come through as they lost 25-22, 25-15, 25-19.
Raymond Barsemian was CUI's most efficient kill leader, collecting eight kills.
Jonathan Predney followed with four kills while
Taylor Falduti also had four kills, hitting .800 for the night. The MPSF leader in digs,
Jacob Weiser, notched double-digit digs with a match-high of 10.
Darcy Taig started well for the Eagles early, tooling the Bruins block and teaming up with Predney and
Hunter Howell for a block and a 3-2 lead. Howell and Predney would then earn another block, followed by a UCLA swing into the net to go ahead 12-11. A Bruin service error gave Concordia the lead at 16-15, which would then increase with Falduti and
Chandler Gibb collecting a block and forcing UCLA into a timeout. Howell sent back a third UCLA attack for the night with Taig to tie the set at 21-21, before the Bruins used a 4-1 run to finish the set.
A kill by Predney brought Concordia within one at 5-4 in the second set. The Bruins started to gain separation, taking five straight points until a Barsemian kill ended the run to make the score 10-6 UCLA. Kills by Howell and Gibb brought CUI within two and tough serving from Howell forced an overpass and a put away by Barsemian to keep Concordia in the set. Back-to-back kills by Falduti and a UCLA service error closed the gap, but the Bruins went on a 7-0 run to close out the set and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
UCLA scored two points right out of the break with Predney responding with two kills of his own to tie the set. Tough serving for the Bruins gave them many opportunities to score, plus an early 9-5 lead and forcing Concordia to call a timeout. Barsemian and Taig each collected kills to help CUI keep steady with UCLA at 13-9.
Owen Chun checked in and put down a kill to stay within four, before a 3-1 UCLA run spurred and was then ended by a kill on the left side by
Isaiah Kaaa. Three of the next four points were service errors and UCLA put down a kill to earn match point. A kill from Kaaa off a swing out of the back row and a Bruin's attack out of bounds fought off two match points before CUI had a service error to end the set and match.
Next Up: Concordia continues their road trip up the coast where they head to Malibu, Calif. to take on No. 7 Pepperdine. Earlier in the season, the Waves defeated the Eagles in four sets in CU Arena.
