IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia men's volleyball team came out on top on Wednesday, earning two victories over teams who have made their first appearance in CU Arena.
Game One: Concordia 3, Saint Katherine 2
Concordia opened the doubleheader with a game against Saint Katherine, a school from San Marcos, Calif. that is its programs second year. The Firebirds came out ready, taking the Eagles to five sets, 21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 15-10.
The Eagles saw a season-high 19 players make an appearance for this game, led by Parker Maki who hit .706 with a team-high 14 kills in just three sets. Luke Krzmarzick checked in for the final two sets and made an immediate impact with 10 kills, 2 aces, and hit .643.
To start the match, CUI got out to a quick 4-0 start. The Firebirds would use their tough serving to gain a 22-18 advantage before running away to take set one. The second set was back-and-forward with each team earning a lead. Maki contributed three points to put the Eagles ahead 18-15. Isaiah Pono Kaaa sealed the net with a solo block to earn set point and Jonathan Carlson tooled the block to tie the match at one set apiece.
Concordia had a 19-17 lead in the third set, but Saint Katherine responded with eight straight points to clinch the set. The Eagles turned to the batch of fresh legs from the bench to start set four and it paid off. Krzmarzick knocked down seven points to get his team ahead 15-12. CUI used a 7-2 run to finish off the set with momentum on their side going into set five.
A trio of Firebird errors put the Eagles up 4-2. After the side switch at 8-7, Concordia had firepower from every part of the court as multiple Eagles contributed to their 12-8 lead. Hunter Howell closed out the match with a solo block and a kill giving Concordia its seventh victory of the season.
Game Two: Concordia 3, Dominican 0
In its programs sixth year of existence, the Dominican Stars headed to the west coast from River Forest, Ill. where they played Concordia for the first time. The Eagles put out a strong showing against the Stars as CUI came out on top by way of a sweep, 25-16, 25-18, 25-23.
Raymond Barsemian put down 17 kills to set the offensive tone for Concordia, while Noah Lassandro had seven blocks, which included a record-tying four solo blocks. Kaaa set all three sets racking up 35 assists, two kills, and two blocks.
Jordan Hoppe cracked the whip early to put the Eagles up 11-1 in the first set. Kills from Hoppe and Andrew Dalmada made the score 22-11 CUI and Barsemian delivered consecutive kills to end the set. Similar to the first, Hoppe's tough serving gave his team a 6-1 advantage in the second. A midset 6-0 run had Concordia up 15-8 and four errors on the Dominican side ended the set.
Dominican slowly crept from behind in the third set. But Concordia always made the push to stay ahead as they went up 20-15. Bailey Mundy earned a kill from the middle to set up match point at 24-19. Consistent play by the Stars forced errors from the Eagles until finally Mundy switched it up with a swing from the right side to clinch the match.
With back-to-back victories, the Eagles have now won eight consecutive non-conference home matches. Concordia will play two more this week on Friday, Mar. 8 against Ottawa Arizona at 1 PM and UC San Diego at 7 PM.
For the full Concordia men's volleyball schedule, click here.
