The Eagles opened up their regular season with a win and a loss in the first day of the Concordia Invitational. 

The Eagles fell behind early in their first game as American International built an 8-4 lead right out of the gate.

But the Eagles regrouped behind the stellar play of freshman Jordan Mineer.  The Arizona native collected two key kills to get the home team back on track after a shaky start.

Another highlight for CUI in the opening set was a dig by Ailsa Watson that managed to go over the net and catch the Yellow Jackets off guard for an unexpected kill.

Behind Watson and Mineer, Concordia turned the tables and managed to pull even at 14-14.  After gaining momentum, Concordia cruised to a 25-18 victory in the first set.

After dropping the second set 25-23, the Eagles flew out to a 6-0 advantage to begin the third.  CUI easily maneuvered to a 25-13 victory and then took care of business again in the fourth and final set, 25-18.

In the nightcap against Cal State Los Angeles, Concordia did not really get into a groove like it did in its first contest of the day.

The Eagles fell behind and ended up falling in three sets to the visiting Golden Eagles. Cal State Los Angeles finished the first day of the tournament as the only school to start 2-0.

PacWest rival Azusa Pacific also split its two matches. Cal Poly Pomona impressed with a 3-0 sweep of the Cougars in the second match of the morning.  APU then bounced back with a 3-0 win later in the day against American International.

The Concordia Invitational concludes Saturday with six more matches. American International and Cal Poly Pomona get things started at 8:45 AM in CU Arena. The Eagles play at 3:30 p.m. against Cal Poly Pomona and then wrap up the tourney with the nightcap at 8 p.m. against Colorado Mesa.