IRVINE, Calif. - After two weeks on the road, the Concordia women's volleyball team will make its first appearance at CU Arena this week as they open PacWest play this week.
 
The Eagles will welcome Point Loma to Irvine on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. before CUI takes a trip up north to take on Academy of Art on Sept. 20 and Holy Names on Sept. 21.
 
Announced on Monday, middle blocker Mackenzie Jensen was honored as the PacWest Freshman of the Week. She was a key former for the Eagles, hitting .515 with 35 kills and had 12 blocks over four games. Junior Riley Gill was another terminal hitter for CUI, putting down 51 kills and had 39 digs, and tallying three double-doubles. For the season, sophomore Brianna Latigue and junior Jaclyn Brown share a team-high nine aces and sophomore Hannah Tostado has 26 blocks, which ranks second behind Jensen's 31.
 
ABOUT POINT LOMA (4-4)
The Sea Lions opened the season similarly to the Eagles, going 3-1 in the Sea Lion Invitational. From there, they went 1-3 against tough west coast competition. Point Loma was voted to finish fourth in the PacWest after a fifth place finish in 2018 and returns the defending conference setter of the year Cara Keturakis. Junior Jaime Cymbaluk leads the way offensively with 68 kills and fellow junior Madie Fox is right behind with 65 kills along with 23 blocks. Series Record: 34-28 PLNU
 
Concordia vs Point Loma
Wednesday, Sept. 18
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Irvine, Calif. (CU Arena)
Live Stream/Stats: Eagles TV

ABOUT ACADEMY OF ART (2-5)
Despite going 0-3 in the Toro Classic in Carson, Calif. to open the season, the Urban Knights joined the Eagles in the DII West Region Showcase in La Jolla, Calif. and came out 2-2. Academy of Art defeated Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings while taking UC San Diego to five sets. Junior Ashley Pawlak is averaging 3.14 kills and 0.41 aces per set to lead the team on offense. Overall as a team, they average 16.34 digs per set with four players with more than three. Heading into the season, the Urban Knights were selected at No. 11 in the PacWest preseason poll. Series Record: 5-0 CUI

Concordia vs Academy of Art
Friday, Sept. 20
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Live Stream/Stats: Urban Knights TV
 
ABOUT HOLY NAMES (1-4)
The Hawks opened the season with a victory over UC Merced before they headed to the DII West Regional Showcase at Stanislaus State. Senior libero Felicya Zuniga has a team-high 74 digs and averaging 4.35 per set and junior Sierra Allen 41 kills and six aces. Junior Brittany Caracciolo and freshman Jasmine Yun are splitting setting duties to run the Hawks offense. Holy Names was voted No. 12 in the PacWest preseason poll. Series Record: 14-0 CUI
 
Concordia vs Holy Names
Saturday, Sept. 21
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Oakland, Calif. (Tobin Gymnasium)
Live Stream/Stats: hnuhawks.com

For the full women's volleyball schedule, click here. Make sure to follow along on social media through Twitter (@cuieagles / @cuiwvolleyball) or Instagram (@cuieagles / @cuiwvolleyball).