IRVINE, Calif.  – The Concordia University Irvine men's volleyball team made a splash Friday night, stunning the No. 4 Pepperdine Waves in the first set before ultimately falling in four, 25-23, 16-25, 27-29, 22-25.

True freshman Luke Krzmarzick finished with a team-high 15 kills and setter Chandler Gibb handed out an impressive 51 assists.  Gibb and Jordan Hoppe each scooped up eight digs while Addison Enriques dug out nine.

"Definitely one of our better matches," admitted Zachary Meyer, who added 12 kills and six digs. "I think we could've dug a little bit better, and I think if we had scooped up a couple more balls it would have made a big difference in the game."

In the first set, the Eagles and Waves kept it close to the vest with CUI holding a slim 22-19 advantage after Raymond Barsemian and Hoppe posted back-to-back kills. A couple serves later, Hoppe smashed a spike down the left side to put the Eagles up 24-20.  After the Waves took a timeout and regrouped with a couple points, Noah Lassandro put the finishing touches on the first set, 25-23, and the Waves were officially on upset alert.

Two of Pepperdine's seniors responded by making a statement in the second set. Michael Wexter pounded home eight kills while David Wieczorek added four kills and an ace to push the Waves out to a 16-9 lead.  Hunter Howell helped give the Eagles a boost with two quick kills but the Waves ultimately ran away with the second set, 25-16.

A turning point came in the third set with the Eagles down 18-14. A long volley went to the Green and Gold after some fans thought the Waves may have gotten away with touching the ball four times in a row.  Hoppe elevated for a crucial solo block to cut the Pepperdine lead to just 22-20. After another point went to CUI, the Waves needed a timeout.

Moments later, Krzmarzick skied for back-to-back kills to tie the match at 23. Krzmarzick would tie it again at 24 but the Waves eventually found a way to escape, 29-27, and move ahead 2-1 entering the fourth set.

Gibb is known for his solid setting technique, but he also picked up a couple kills in the match. On one unorthodox play in the fourth, the Eagles were scrambling on defense and Lassandro actually set for Gibb who was able to surprise the defense on the wing. The Eagles built two-point leads at 8-6 and 16-14 but the Waves refused to lose.  Wexter placed seven of his game-high 24 kills in the fourth to put this one out of reach. Meyer rallied the troops with five of his 12 kills in the fourth to help CUI tie the game at 20-20. The Eagles battled but could not force a five-set match, as the Waves escaped with the 3-1 victory.

"It shows that we are improving," said CUI head coach Shawn Patchell. "I'd like to improve a little quicker, but we're right there. We took it to one of the best teams in the nation in the first set and we had opportunities to win the third set and the fourth set was tight. We're close. Their studs played a little bit better than our studs, and we couldn't get Wieczorek off the service line enough and that was the difference.
 
Wieczorek finished with 22 kills and five block assists while hitting at a .400 clip.  Wester also had 10 digs while hitting .452 on his 24 kills. CUI's Krzmarzick was particularly impressive, hitting at a .444 mark as well.

Despite the loss, CUI gained some confidence by going toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country.

"I think it's a really good placement of where Concordia volleyball is at," said Hoppe. "We're playing these guys so close, and it feels like from our side that we can compete on the floor with these guys and contend with these top teams."

"We played well enough to win and our guys played with heart," added Patchell. "They (just) played a little bit better defense than us."

The Eagles will be home again next Thursday, Feb. 28 when they host USC at 7 p.m.

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