SAN DIEGO, Calif. – It was the season opener for NCAA DII women's college volleyball on Friday and Concordia was eager to make its first official appearance on the court. The Eagles played two matches in the first of the two-day Sea Lion Invitational, hosted by Point Loma, and came out with a split record.
 
In the early morning, Concordia took on Southern Nazarene in a highly competitive match. But it was the Crimson Storm who was able to hold on and earn the victory in four sets. The Eagles returned back to Golden Gymnasium later that evening and scooped up a five-set comeback win over Seattle Pacific. With this win, CUI has snapped an eight game non-conference losing streak.
 
Concordia was able to grab four sets for the day. The key component to each set win, the offense.
 
"We battled this morning hitting some of our best attack numbers, .400 (set one) and .395 (set three)" said head coach Paula Weishoff. "We learned and lost in four. In the afternoon we fought hard and won in five. We learned and won, hitting .534 in the fifth set. It was a team effort all the way around."
 
Concordia 1, Southern Nazarene 3
Junior Jaclyn Brown led the way for the green and gold with a double-double of 11 kills and 14 digs. Senior Julia DenBoer had her first career start at libero and set a career-high of 21 digs while Mackenzie Jensen made her collegiate debut at middle blocker where she had eight kills, two blocks, and hit .583.
 
The Eagles were strong offensively in set one, where they hit .400 with 14 kills. In set two, teams switched leads six times and ultimately Concordia was edged in both sets 25-23.
 
Looking to extend the match, Concordia went up 6-2 in the third set to force a Southern Nazarene timeout. Consistent play from there on gave the Eagles its largest lead at 23-14 and then a 25-15 victory. Southern Nazarene put themselves in the driver's seat with a 20-15 lead in the fourth set, but Concordia fought back within one at 21-20. SNU would then convert four of the final five points to take the match.
 
Concordia 3, Seattle Pacific 2
Stepping up her game from earlier in the day was DenBoer, who broke her career-high in digs earlier against Southern Nazarene. She would then reset it against Seattle Pacific with 25 digs and also had a career best 10 assists for her first career double-double. It is the first double-double for a Concordia libero since Madeline Deters in 2017.
 
Junior Riley Gill and sophomore Brianna Latigue both notched double-doubles with Gill picking up 14 kills and 14 digs and Latigue having a career-high 25 assists plus 16 digs. Sophomore Jordan Mineer also set a career best with 14 kills and sophomore Hannah Tostado matched her best blocking performance with seven block assists.
 
The Eagles stepped up quickly, getting ahead 15-8 in set one. The Falcons held steady to tie the set and take the lead late for a 25-23 victory. Multiple errors for Seattle Pacific in set two allowed Concordia to run away 25-19.
 
Seattle Pacific delivered in set three, winning 25-19 and put Concordia behind 2-1 for the second time of the day. The only way to win the match, win the next two sets.
 
"Down 2-1, we told them to keep grinding and focus one play at a time" said Weishoff.
 
That they did. Concordia hit .370 in set four with 13 kills and held Seattle Pacific to .000 for a 25-14 victory and forced a fifth. The Eagles jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and held it as they did not look back, winning 15-6.
 
Next: The Seaside Invitational continues on Saturday for Concordia as the Eagles will face a pair of west region opponents, San Francisco State at 10:45 a.m. and Cal State East Bay at 5:45 p.m.