IRVINE, Calif. - The Concordia men's volleyball team hits the road for the first time in the 2020 campaign, ready to face a field of nationally ranked teams from the Big West, in the UCSB Asics Invitational.
 
Earlier in the week, the Eagles got by Saint Katherine in a win that featured an appearance from 22 players, including 10 who made their CUI debut. The 2020 roster features nine true freshmen plus five players who are coming off redshirt seasons.
 
Junior Zachary Meyer and sophomore Noah Lassandro led the team with six kills apiece while a duo of freshmen setters McLain Mott and Christian Oviedo split duties of running the offense.
 
This week, the team will face No. 4 Long Beach State, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, and No. 13 CSUN. It'll be the second straight season that Concordia will face these teams in this historic tournament, hosted by the Gauchos of UCSB.
 
About No. 5 UCSB
The Gauchos will open its season against the Eagles after finishing in third place last season in the Big West with an 18-10 overall record. This season, the team is picked to finish a program-best second in the Big West Preseason Poll. Returning for UCSB is AVCA Newcomer of the Year and Big West Freshman of the Year Ryan Wilcox who was second on the team with 254 kills and 121 digs. Also returning are Randy DeWeese and Casey McGarry who split time at the setting position and middle blocker Brandon Hicks who joined Wilcox on the Big West All-Freshman team. Series Record: UCSB leads 5-1 (Last Meeting: 3-0 UCSB in 2019)
 
About No. 4 Long Beach State
The Beach are the two-time defending national champions and will start its contention for the third this weekend. Long Beach State loses a quartet of All-Americans including two AVCA National Players of the Year but returns two-time All-Big West Honorable Mention honoree Simon Andersen who hit a team-best .573 with 156 kills and was second with 78 blocks. Prior to season, the Beach traveled to Toronto, Canada where they went 1-2 in exhibitions against top Canadian colleges in the CanAm Tournament. Series Record: LBSU leads 3-0 (Last Meeting: 3-0 LBSU in 2019)
 
About No. 13 CSUN
CSUN was voted to finish fifth in the Big West Preseason Poll after a 13-14 season in 2019. The Matadors return its second and third best kill leaders in senior Ksawey Tomsia and junior Maciej Ptaszynski along with 2019 Big West All-Freshman Team members Taylor Ittner and Daniel Wetter. The CSUN roster features 20 players, with 14 of them being underclassmen. Last weekend, the Matadors hosted the University of Guelph for a pair of exhibitions, with CSUN coming out on top 3-1 both times. Series Record: CSUN leads 2-4 (Last Meeting: 3-1 CSUN in 2019)
 
Coverage
Live Stream: BigWest.tv (Only available vs UCSB)
Live Stats: vs UCSB | vs LBSU | vs CSUN
 
For the full Concordia men's volleyball schedule, click here.