SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. - The Eagles started off their season in the Asics Invitational hosted by UCSB, from January 3-5. Coming into the tournament ranked No. 12, they would face off with No. 11, Cal State University, Northridge. 

The Eagles would lose the first two matches, but win the third to force them to a fourth set. CSUN prevailed in the fourth set, winning the match 1-3 with scores 23-25, 19-25, 25-23, 23-25.

In the first set, the Eagles came out strong taking a 5-1 lead over the Matadors, but they would slowly creep up over the duration of the set. Concordia would take a timeout at 19-20, with the Matadors taking the first lead of the night. CSUN would take the first set with a score 23-25. 

The Matadors continued their momentum in the second set and took the lead early. After Isaiah Kaaa and Owen Chun combined for a clutch point to pull within four, 22-18, the Matadors took a timeout. CSUN would eventually close out the set, 25-19.

The third set was a different story for the Eagles as they would jump out on the court strong, going on a few runs thanks to some hitting errors by the Matadors.  With the score 17-15 in favor of Concordia, the Eagles took a timeout and never turned back winning 25-23 on a service error. 

The fourth set was another hard battle between the two teams but it was the Matadors coming out on top by a count of 25-23 to take the match 3-1.

Concordia's Jordan Hoppe led the team on the night with ten kills and five blocks. Senior Raymond Barsemian collected seven kills and eight digs, while Hunter Howell also had seven kills and seven blocks. Chandler Gibb dished out 28 assists and Addison Enriques led the team with nine digs.

The Eagles will continue to play in Santa Barbara at the Asics Invitational on Friday, January 4 at 3:00 PM against top-ranked and defending champion Long Beach State.