PROVO, Utah – Concordia (16-15, 5-7 MPSF) entered their first MPSF Tournament last week as the fourth seed after being voted to finish last in the conference in the MPSF Preseason Poll. The Eagles got to host the quarterfinals that ended with a sweep of fifth seed Grand Canyon, earning them a spot in the semifinals against second seed UCLA.
 
On Thursday afternoon, CUI took on UCLA (24-6, 9-3 MPSF) for the third time this season with the same result, but this time taking the Bruins to four sets. Concordia fought their way to the end with their season on the line, ultimately falling 26-28, 25-21, 26-24, 25-18.
 
Second team All-MPSF honoree Raymond Barsemian led the way for the Eagles, tying his career-high with 18 kills and served an ace. The middle blocker duo of junior Hunter Howell and senior Taylor Falduti were efficient all afternoon with Howell having 12 kills and hitting .588, while Falduti had 10 kills and hit .600. Jonathan Predney had eight kills and Jacob Weiser had a match-high 11 digs in their final match as Eagles. Chandler Gibb dished out 48 assists and had five digs.
 
The Eagles started out strong with a 6-2 advantage curtesy of four UCLA hitting errors. Howell and Falduti each put down kills to extend their lead to five at 12-7, but the Bruins stormed back to tie the set at 17-17. Concordia would see themselves trailing at 20-19 and then 24-21, until a 4-0 run consisting of kills by Howell and Josiah Bergt and a Falduti ace tied the set at 25-25. Taig collected a kill to give CUI set point and Howell completed the comeback with a solo block.
 
Teams battled for the early part of the second set with Concordia eventually pulling ahead 12-9 after Falduti and Barsemian kills. The Eagles got kills from Howell and Barsemian at 15-13 before UCLA went on a run to take the lead at 19-15. A 4-1 run by CUI forced the Bruins into a timeout at 20-19, but UCLA sparked a run of their own to take the set 25-21.
 
Barsemian took charge for his team, putting down three kills as part of Concordia's 7-5 lead. Howell earned back-to-back kills to extend the CUI advantage to three at 16-13. Trailing 21-23, Howell swung for a kill while Barsemian followed with a serve that landed between two UCLA passers to tie the set. Predney fought off another set point with a crosscourt kill to the corner until the Bruins scored consecutive points to gain the 2-1 match lead.
 
Both teams kept close with each other, with the momentum then shifting toward the Bruins, where they put out a 4-0 run to lead 13-9. A Barsemian kill and two UCLA errors crept Concordia within two at 15-13, but the Bruins gained separation again to lead 22-16. Barsemian scored again for the Eagles to keep their season alive but back-to-back UCLA points advanced them to the championship game of the MPSF tournament.
 
Concordia concludes their first full season as official Division II members and first year members in the MPSF. Ending their legacy as Eagles are four-year members Josiah Bergt, Taylor Falduti, Jonathan Predney, and Jacob Weiser.