LA JOLLA, Calif. - After the Sea Lion Invitational this past weekend collecting a 3-1 record, the Concordia women's volleyball team headed back south to UC San Diego to compete in their DII West Region Showcase. The Eagles went 1-1 on the opening day of the tournament beating Montana State Billings in three sets and falling to the hosting team, UC San Diego in four. 

Concordia 3, Montana State Billings 0
Junior Jaclyn Brown led the way for the Eagles with another double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Jordan Mineer hit .538 with seven kills on the match, with Freshman middle blocker Mackenzie Jensen and Riley Gill both hit .429 recording six kills each. Kailyn Case and Brianna Latigue dished out 17 and 12 assists, respectively. Senior libero Julia DenBoer tallied another double digit match with 14 digs. 

Both outside hitters Gill and Brown started things off strong for CUI as they would go on serving runs that extended their lead in the first set, making it difficult for MSUB to rally back and would finish with a strong 25-14 score. The second set was a close one as the Yellowjackets would continue to battle back, keeping the score within just a couple points. With DenBoer at the back line and a few kills from Gill, Brown, and a final kill from Mineer finished the second set for the Eagles with a 25-21 score. 

As the Eagles had a two game lead, they were able to hold the Yellowjackets to a hitting percentage of -.061 in the third set with Hannah Tostado and Latigue dominating behind the serving line, not allowing them to get back in the game, finishing the match with a final score 25-16. Concordia finished with 43 kills and an impressive hitting percentage of .340 on the match, while adding 46 digs. 

Concordia 1, UC San Diego 3
The Eagles took on the hosting team of the tournament tonight, ultimately falling short in four sets. Their was no shortage of effort from both teams as they continued to battle for every point to the end. CUI continued their momentum into the first set as they would take the lead later in the game with a 22-19 lead. UC San Diego continued to fight as they would go on a three point run, forcing a CUI timeout at 22 a-piece. A kill from Jaclyn Brown gave the Eagles the game point at 25-24. UCSD wouldn't let up, as they fought hard for a kill to keep the game going. A couple errors from the Tritons gave the Eagles another chance to win the first set but an error from the Eagles and two kills from the Tritons finished the game with a close score of 27-29.

The second set was another battle for both teams as the score would remain close with UC San Diego being able to pull away from Concordia at the end of the set going on a five point run, finishing 19-25. The third set was no different for the teams, continuing to clash and keeping up with each other. A few hitting errors from the Tritons would allow the Eagles to take a comfortable 18-12 lead, forcing a Triton timeout. The Eagles never let up and finished the set 25-19, forcing a fourth set. 

The Tritons came out strong in the fourth set, taking a 2-6 lead over the Eagles. Kailyn Case went on a service run to put the Eagles on top by one point. Just as UC San Diego had a six point lead, Concordia came back keeping the errors to a minimal and being aggressive at the net on offense. With the Tritons having match point, a kill from Jordan Mineer kept the Eagles in the game and brought in Brianna Latigue at the service line who went on a three point run, coming within just one of the Tritons match point. UC San Diego came out with their final point kill, taking the match 23-25. 

Riley Gill led the night for the Eagles with 14 kills and 13 digs and Jaclyn Brown with 10 kills and 12 digs. Brianna Latigue collected 28 assists and six digs, while Kailyn Case was right behind with 19 assists and five digs. Mackenzie Jensen had a solid game with nine kills, hitting .600 during the match and Julia DenBoer leading the Eagles defense game with 22 digs. 

Next: The DII West Region tournament continues on Saturday for Concordia as the Eagles will face Saint Martin's at 2:30 p.m. and Chico State at 7:30 p.m.