IRVINE, Calif. – After an impressive 3-1 record over the weekend in the Sea Lion Invitational, the Concordia women's volleyball team will head back south to the DII West Region Showcase, hosted by UC San Diego.
 
The Eagles opened the 2019 season last Friday in a hard-fought battle with Southern Nazarene followed by a five-set thriller against Seattle Pacific for the first win of the season. The next day was a historic one, as the Eagles victory over San Francisco State was career win No. 300 for CUI head coach Paula Weishoff. Later that evening, Concordia earned its first sweep of the year with a win over Cal State East Bay.
 
Junior outside hitter Riley Gill led all Eagles in scoring with a team-high 44.5 points and 39 kills. Her counterpart, junior outside hitter Jaclyn Brown followed right behind with 36 kills including a 13-kill performance against CSUEB where she hit .500. Senior Julia DenBoer has suited up as the libero this season and has defended well, collecting 63 digs.
 
Concordia will take on four teams from the west region, facing against two teams from the CCAA, and two from the GNAC.
 
ABOUT MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (1-3)
Montana State Billings played its first weekend in Chadron, Neb. and came out with a 1-3 record.  The 14-player roster features eight freshman, two sophomores, three juniors, and no seniors. The Yellowjackets are led by junior rightside Bayli Monck who has racked up 43 kills and 42 digs. Junior middle blocker Joelle Mahowald shores up the attack hitting .321 with 33 kills and has 12 blocks. Last season, Montana State Billings finished the season with a 13-17 record and an eighth-place finish in the GNAC, this season the coaches predicted they will finish at ninth.
 
ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO (2-2)
The Tritons are coming off a 11-12 record in 2018, placing sixth in the South Division in the CCAA. Last weekend they played in the Seawolf Invitational in Alaska and came out with a split record, with wins over Concord and host Alaska Anchorage. Headlining UC San Diego is senior outside hitter Sydney Tekstra who has 42 kills, and junior Gina Cortesi has a team-high 10 aces along with 32 kills and 45 digs. Senior Alyson Penrose is the libero and leads the way with 4.29 digs per set and freshman middle Sarah Rieble is hitting .375 with 31 kills and has 13 blocks. Prior to the season, the Tritons were voted to finish third in the CCAA South Division.
 
ABOUT SAINT MARTIN'S (0-5)
The Saints played five games last weekend in The Cougar Classic hosted by Cal State San Marcos. The roster of 19 consists mainly of underclassmen, 11 freshmen, 6 sophomores, and just one junior and one senior. Junior outside hitter Mackenzie Carter has a team-high 51 kills and sophomore libero Kylie Alos has amassed 97 digs. Sophomore Alyssa Bartlett and freshman Emily Kinsley-DeLeon are splitting setting duties and both lead the team in aces with seven and five aces respectively. The Saints were voted to finish at No. 11 in the GNAC this season.
 
ABOUT CHICO STATE (0-4)
Picked to finish fifth in the CCAA North Division, the Wildcats started the 2019 season 1-3 playing against tough competition, including three teams from the PacWest. The roster features a balanced 19 players with 10 underclassmen and are led by four seniors. Leading the offense is freshman setter Brooke Ono who is averaging 9.44 assists per set and has five Wildcats with double-digit kills for the season. Senior middle hitter Kim Wright is dynamic at the net with a team-high of 61 kills and 18 blocks while senior libero Brooke Fogel is averaging 3.61 digs per set.
 
DII West Region Showcase
Friday, Sept. 13
Time: 2:30 PM (vs MSUB), 7:30 PM (at UCSD)
Location: La Jolla, Calif. (RIMAC Arena)
Live Stream: ucsdtritons.com (vs MSUB), ESPN3 (vs UCSD)
Live Stats: ucsdtritons.com
 
Saturday, Sept. 14
Time: 2:30 PM (vs SMU), 7:30 PM (vs CSU)
Location: La Jolla, Calif. (RIMAC Arena)
Live Stream: ucsdtritons.com (vs SMU), ucsdtritions.com (vs CSU)
Live Stats: ucsdtritons.com
 
For the full Concordia women's volleyball schedule, click here.