PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Thursday night, No. 14 Concordia (10-13, 3-6 MPSF) went on the road for a crucial match against No. 13 Grand Canyon (16-8, 3-6 MPSF) to fight for the fourth seed in the conference tournament. By the end of the night, the season series between the two teams became even as the Eagles fell 3-1 to the Lopes by a score of 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21.
 
Raymond Barsemian was effective for the Eagles, leading with 15 kills and collecting five blocks. Hunter Howell hit .417 with six kills and had a team-high six blocks. Distributing the offense was Chandler Gibb with 38 assists and tied a team-high eight digs with Jacob Weiser.  
 
Grand Canyon took a lead early in the first set going ahead 11-7. Concordia closed the gap with a 3-0 run from a Howell kill and back-to-back Eagle block to make the score 15-14 GCU. The Lopes would then gain separation, but Jonathan Predney put down a kill to stay within three, at 21-18. Predney tooled the block to keep Concordia in the set and Grand Canyon responded with the final three points to earn their first set of the season against the Eagles.
 
A kill by Taylor Falduti kill and two GCU errors put the Eagles up early 3-2. Howell and Barsemian collected kills but CUI was still behind 9-7. Predney hammered a swing down the line and tooled the block while Barsemian put away a ball to even the set up at 15-15. The Lopes began to run away, going ahead by five at 23-18, then Falduti earned a kill and followed with an ace. Predney fought off a set point with a kill then Grand Canyon sided-out to take the 2-0 lead.
 
Momemtum shifted in the favor of Concordia in the third set, going ahead 3-0 after two Falduti kills and a Grand Canyon hitting error. Both teams battled and sided-out until CUI earned a two-point lead late in the set. Up by three, Concordia sent back a Lopes attack by ways of a Parker Maki solo block. The Lopes sided-out and the Eagles responded with a put away from Howell to stay alive in the match.
 
Down early 3-0, Barsemian had two kills and Predney served an ace to even up the fourth set. Grand Canyon was up 13-12 and Concordia took the lead with a 5-1 run from aces by Isaiah Kaaa and Barsemian. The Lopes fought their way back and ended up with a late three-point lead at 21-18. With the match on the line, Barsemian tooled the block to stay alive but a kill from the GCU middle ended the match.
 
Next Up: Concordia will remain in Arizona where they will face Benedictine Mesa on Saturday at 9 AM and follows with another match against Ottawa University AZ at 11 AM.