SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – On the first road trip of the season, the Concordia men's volleyball team looked to upset No. 5 UCSB on day one of the Asics Invitational. The Eagles fought hard but were unable to overcome the Gauchos, falling 3-0 to the tournament host.
 
A total of 13 players saw time on the court for the Eagles, with five producing at least three kills led by Raymond Barsemian with eight and hit .412 for the afternoon. Noah Lassandro had three kills on eight attempts and hit .375 to go along with three blocks plus an ace. Defensively, Addison Enriques had a match-high eight digs.
 
Both teams did not produce well to begin the first set, with a majority of points being given by service errors. CUI got production midway off the bench from Owen Chun while Gil Herold tagged along, both delivering kills.
 
Barsemian was effective early in the second, putting down three kills in the Eagles first six points. Darcy Taig and Herold tagged along later offensively to put the Eagles on a 4-2 run.
 
Concordia started to get on track in the third, maintaining a lead early. The Green and Gold were the first to 15, leading 15-14 after a UCSB service error. The Gauchos were able to take the lead but another service error from the home team tied it at 19. A service ace from Jordan Hoppe tied the decisive set at 23 and a setting error for the Gauchos gave Concordia set point. Out of the timeout UCSB put down a kill and completed the set with back-to-back points for the win.
 
The Eagles look to bounce back on Friday night, taking on No. 13 CSUN at 8 p.m.