IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia men's volleyball team secured an undefeated week with its third and fourth victory on Friday. The Eagles saw Ottawa Arizona for the first time this season, taking down the Spirit in four and followed with a revenge match-up with UC San Diego.
 
Game One: Concordia 3, Ottawa AZ 1
Many Eagles saw significant playing time against the Spirit, with Parker Maki and Owen Chun each sharing a team-high nine kills. Isaiah Kaaa was one dig shy of a double-double with 36 assists plus three aces. Freshman Christian Nowtash earned his second start for the week and had seven blocks and three kills.
 
Concordia got out to an early 6-1 lead in the first. Andrew Dalmada stepped back to the line, serving seven straight to get his team ahead 20-9. Jonathan Carlson tooled the Ottawa block to for set point and Dalmada ran the slide to end it at 25-15.
 
Bailey Mundy and Carlson had the hot hand to begin the second, with the Eagles up 9-5. A trio of Ottawa errors and Maki kill gave CUI a 15-10 lead and late errors extended the lead to 23-19. Maki earned another kill for set point and an error from the Spirit ended the set at 25-22.
 
Concordia had a similar start in set three, getting ahead 8-5, until Ottawa went on a 6-0 run to take an 11-8 lead. Chun and Darcy Taig collected kills to cut the lead to four but the Spirit stayed consistent and ended the set at 25-20.
 
Kaaa served up two aces to get the Eagles up 4-0. Another Kaaa serving run later in the set extended the lead to 13-10. Momentum shifted solely to Concordia as the Eagles used an 8-2 run to close the match.
 
Game Two: Concordia 3, UC San Diego 2
Last season, the Eagles and Tritons faced off in a home-and-away series with the Tritons winning in La Jolla and the Eagles getting the victory in five in Irvine. This season the results replicated that of last seasons. Concordia took down UC San Diego, holding off the Tritons in five sets.
 
Raymond Barsemian was instrumental to the victory, putting down a career-high 24 kills and season-high five blocks. Jordan Hoppe followed behind with 19 kills and hit .432 while Zachary Meyer had 11 kills and hit .381. Setter Chandler Gibb dished out a season-high 59 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.
 
Eagles came out to an early 6-1 lead and continued the momentum to stay ahead 15-8. Barsemian and Noah Lassandro kept the power from Concordia going, putting the ball away and sending back Triton attackst to end the set on a 7-2 run at 25-14.
 
UC San Diego was up for most of set two until the Concordia gained an advantage at 15-14 off a Hunter Howell ace. A 5-2 run put the Eagles up by five at 23-18 with Barsemian coming in at the end to close it at 25-21.
 
Both teams hung close in set three, with UCSD getting a three-point advantage late. Barsemian and Meyer held off two set points, but the Tritons would win 25-21. UC San Diego came out ready to play in set four, getting ahead by as much as ten at 17-7. Jonathan Carlson checked in and was a spark serving his team back into the set, coming within two at 20-18. However, it was Eagle errors that ended the set at 25-21.
 
In the decisive fifth set, Hoppe went off, putting down four kills in the set as Concordia went up 10-7. The Eagles could feel the victory in the end where the Eagles scored five straight to clinch the match at 15-8.
 
Concordia is now 9-13 on the season and will play one more non-conference match against No. 3 UC Irvine in CU Arena on Mar. 13 at 7 PM before MPSF play starts back up.
 
For the full Concordia men's volleyball schedule, click here.