For the second consecutive weekend, the Concordia Eagles volleyball team participated in a two day, six team tournament held at CU Arena.  Joining the Eagles in the DII West Region Showcase are the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, Cal State Easy Bay Pioneers, Cal State San Marcos Cougars, Central Washington Wildcats and Notre Dame de Namur Argonauts.

Game One: In the second game of the day and first for the Eagles, CUI dropped three consecutive sets to CSU East Bay.  The first set was back and forth early, with the two teams trading points.  After falling behind, the Eagles battled back to take a 17-15 lead, but the Pioneers made a run and scored four consecutive points to take the lead.  They then held on to win 25-21 and take a one set lead.

CSUEB came out in the second set just as they had finished the first set.  They jumped out to a 12-5 lead, and though the Eagles were able to cut the lead to three at 23-20, they could get no closer and dropped the set 25-21.
The third and final set was much like the second, with the Pioneers holding a comfortable lead throughout and finally winning 25-19 to complete the sweep. 

Leading the Eagles in their first game of the tournament were a pair of sophomores.  Riley Gill had 11 kills and Jaclyn Brown matched Gill with 11 kills to lead the team.  Ailsa Watson and Brianna Latigue split time at the setter position, finishing with 23 and 13 assists, respectively.  Brown and Latigue led with eight digs each. 

Game Two: After a sterling performance of the National Anthem by CUI students Shane Welter and Lauren Kruse prior to the beginning of the CUI vs. Alaska Anchorage game, the Eagles once again took to the court in search of their second victory of the season.  Beating the Seawolves would not be easy, however.  In their first matchup, UAA fell behind a strong Cal State San Marcos team, but stormed back to win in five sets.

The first set was close midway through the set.  With the score tied at 16 following a kill by Brown, the Seawolves bounced back, scoring consecutive points to force to Concordia timeout.  Coming out of the break, UAA continued their strong play, scoring the next two points to take a four point lead.  They then went on to score five of the next seven points and win set one 25-18.

After limping through the final points of the first set, CUI continued their sloppy play early in the 2^nd set, falling behind 12-6.  Midway through the set, however, the Eagles got back on track, making a run to cut the deficit to 16-12.  The comeback in the 2^nd set was slow but steady for the Eagles, and finally with the score tied at 23, they caught their opponent.  The Seawolves responded by going to their best player.  After scoring to take the lead again, UAA went to Christalyn Johnson and she scored the winning point of the second set.

The third set was tied at 13, but a run by the Seawolves built a cushion that was too much for the Eagles to overcome.  UAA scored six consecutive points to give them a 19-13 lead and they went on to win the third set 25-20. 
Freshman Patience O'Neal led the Eagles in kills with 10, Clarice Buchanan led with 15 digs, and Ailsa Watson had a team leading 15 assists.
 
What's Next: The Eagles continue play in the DII West Region Showcase at CU Arena on Saturday, taking on the Central Washington Wildcats at 1:00 pm and then the Cal State San Marcos Cougars at 7:45 pm.