IRVINE, Calif. – Concordia men's volleyball team had a dominant performance on Thursday night, defeating UC Santa Cruz by way of a sweep and extending a winning streak of eight straight home wins, dating back to March of 2018.
The Eagles were able to outnumber the Banana Slugs in almost every statistical category for the night, where they hit a season-high .468 and had 26-15 dig advantage.
"I'm very pleased with our setters, they distributed the ball well and we ran a really good offense," said CUI head coach
Shawn Patchell. "Whenever you hit .468 as a team, it shows you are taking a step in the right direction. I'm very pleased with how we played as a team – both the guys coming off the bench as well as our starters."
There was a total of 14 players who made an appearance, each making a positive impact on the court.
Jordan Hoppe had a match-high 13 kills, where he went 10-0-11 in the first set.
"We were passing really well to start and that just kind of opened up our offense," said Hoppe. "That totally is a confidence boost and allows each one of our players to play looser and that's the key to the game. Having that confidence with each swing and each pass and it starts on the service line."
Chandler Gibb and
Isaiah Kaaa split setting duties for the night, distributing 24 and 17 assists respectively. Kaaa was also a force from the service line, putting down six aces which ties a school record for most aces in a match.
"I'm really comfortable serving here in our gym and it was nice getting back there and getting on a run," said Kaaa.
"Pono was very efficient. He gave us a big boost in the second set and we wanted to get out there and get a big lead," added Patchell.
Hunter Howell was perfect offensively, hitting 1.000 with seven kills and picked up an ace, while
Zachary Meyer checked in the final set and put down seven kills on eight attempts.
Concordia started set one trailing but came back to take an 8-7 lead. The Eagles were able to gain separation after a 9-2 run featuring four kills by Hoppe and three points by
Bailey Mundy. UC Santa Cruz crept closer near the end, but a solid pass led by
Addison Enriques to a Howell put away to end the set.
Kaaa got Concordia off to a hot start with his serves, forcing an overpass and delivering five consecutive aces to put them up 6-0. A kill from Hoppe put the Eagles at 15 first, then Howell contributed with a trio of points to put Concordia on a 7-1 run to lead 23-16. Just the way that he started the set, Kaaa stepped back to the line to deliver his record-tying sixth ace to close the second set.
The Eagles jumbled up the third set line-up, starting the fresh arms of Meyer,
Parker Maki,
Darcy Taig, and
Noah Lassandro. Each contributed early, starting the set ahead 5-0. Four straight points for Concordia put them up 14-6. Maki tooled the block for a kill to give Concordia match point and back-to-back service errors gave the Eagles the victory.
"I thought there were some great improvements for us tonight and I thought we are going in the right direction," said CUI assistant coach
Curt Hanson. "Obviously there are some things we need to shore up but we tend to play pretty well against better teams. We've got another good one Friday night. It's going to be a good test for us and we need to stick a loss on the Tritons. That's our goal (moving forward)."
Concordia heads on the road for a Friday night game in La Jolla, Calif. against UC San Diego before starting conference play next week.
For the full schedule of Concordia men's volleyball, click here.
