IRVINE, Calif. – No. 14 Concordia played in their first-ever match in CU Arena as a nationally ranked team in the AVCA DI-II Coaches Poll on Wednesday night, facing off against another ranked opponent in No. 10 Ball State. Behind a steady offense and defense, it was Ball State (11-7, 4-2 MIVA) who was victorious where they defeated Concordia (8-9, 3-3 MPSF) in four sets, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-20.
 
The Eagles had three players collect double-digit digs on the night with Jacob Weiser leading the way with a match-high 15. Jonathan Predney and Chandler Gibb joined Weiser in double-figures with 11 and 10 digs respectively, while Predney had a match-high 16 kills and Gibb dished out 35 assists for double-doubles for each. Raymond Barsemian was next highest point scorer for Concordia where he had 13 points, all on kills.
 
Concordia bolted ahead early, getting a 3-1 lead from kills from Predney and Josiah Bergt. Ball State responded right away to take the lead, which from then went back-and-forward between the two teams. No team gained more than a one point lead, until the Eagles used a 4-0 run to allow separation from the Cardinal and force Ball State to use both of their timeouts and make the score 18-14. The gap was close then closed immediately, with Ball State taking six of the next eight points to tie the set up at 20 all. Predney put away a kill to go ahead 23-21, followed by a Ball State kill to come within one. The Cardinal served the ball out of bounds to give the Eagles set point and committed another error to seal the set.
 
Ball State started to settle in the second set, going ahead 8-2, benefiting from multiple Concordia errors. More Eagle hitting errors extended the lead for Ball State, who were now ahead by eight at 13-5, before the Cardinal committed errors of their own to bring Concordia within four. Down 19-13, Isaiah Kaaa checked in making his hitting debut and collected a kill right away and BSU followed that with a hitting error. Back-to-back kills by Barsemian brought the Eagles within three at 21-18, but a 4-1 run by the Cardinal ended the set and tied up the match.
 
Concordia grabbed the first two points of the third set while Ball State followed with the next three. Two Ball State errors and kills from Barsemian and Bergt put the Eagles ahead 8-6, but the lead changed in favor of the Cardinal with the score now at 11-9. Alec Krilis and Predney teamed up for a block to retake the lead at 12-11 before Ball State switched the momentum going on a 9-2 run. Predney responded with two kills to come with four at 21-17 to force BSU into a timeout. A 5-2 run ended the Eagles chance at a comeback with the Cardinal finishing the set with a kill to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Teams went toe-to-toe in the start of the fourth set until Krilis put down a kill to take the 7-6 lead. Slowly Ball State went on small runs to gain a lead over Concordia where they got ahead 16-12. Four straight Cardinal points put them ahead by seven and closer to the end with the 20-13 lead. Ahead 23-16, the Eagles got momentum from Hunter Howell, who put down a thunderous kill from Kaaa and teamed up with Parker Maki for a block. Maki put down his second kill and Ball State hit out of bounds to bring Concordia within three at 23-20. A crucial service error for the Eagles gave the Cardinal match point, which Ball State executed immediately with a kill off the high hands to defeat Concordia.
 
Next Up: Concordia looks to bounce back right away as they return to CU Arena on Thursday night at 7 PM, facing off against another MIVA opponent in No. 6 Loyola-Chicago.