HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The Eagles entered Saturday evening poised to gain some ground in the conference standings as they visited Hawai'i Pacific University.  Despite their good intentions, the Sharks sank their teeth in to an early lead and ultimately prevailed 3-0 over Concordia.

The Green and Gold racked up 14 blocks as a group. Riley Gill led the Eagles with a team-high 23 receptions while senior Julia DenBoer also collected 14 digs and a kill.  Two-time PacWest Freshman of the Week Mackenzie Jensen hit .333 and added seven kills and five blocks while setters Brianna Latigue and Kailyn Case combined for 19 assists.

Known for her ability to cause chaos at the net, CUI sophomore Hannah Tostado surprised the Sharks by earning back-to-back aces midway through the opening stanza. Jensen led the Eagles (9-7, 3-5 PacWest) with two kills while Latigue added five assists but the Sharks (11-6, 7-2 PacWest) asserted themselves and pulled away for a 25-14 win in the first set.  

After the Green and Gold fell behind 14-7 in the second, Latigue fed freshman Gracie Rowland for a kill to cut the deficit to 14-8. Rowland provided a boost off the bench with five kills in two sets. But the Sharks responded with a quick 5-0 run and eventually piled up a 25-12 victory to move ahead 2-0 in the match.

The Eagles played their best volleyball in the third set.  After the Sharks scored the first point, Gill tied the game with a smash to the back left corner.  Following Gill's kill, Jaclyn Brown set up Rowland for a spike and the Eagles moved ahead 2-1.

After the two teams traded a few points, CUI senior Kylie Breitenwischer made an impact by teaming up with Jensen to register consecutive blocks. Breitenwischer would finish with four rejections and Rowland followed that up with kill off an assist from Kailyn Case to put CUI up 7-6.

CUI led by as many as three points on three different occasions, including 14-11 after a kill by Cambria Fernandez.  Another kill by Rowland a few mintues later gave the Eagles a 17-16 advantage, but then HPU got back on track with three straight points to force a timeout by CUI coach Paula Weishoff.

After HPU moved ahead 24-20, Fernandez added another clutch kill and teamed with Jensen for a block party to trim the deficit to 24-22. But just as the Eagles were on the verge of forcing a fourth set, the Sharks cashed in on a kill to the back right corner and escaped with a 25-22 win to finish off the sweep.

The Eagles next chance to get back into the win column comes Sunday, Oct. 13 when they wrap up their three-game road trip in Hawai'i with a 6 p.m. (PT) match at Chaminade.

For the full CUI women's volleyball schedule, click here.