PROVO, Utah – Facing the difficult task of unseating unbeaten and second ranked BYU on Thursday evening, the Concordia men's volleyball team set its tracks for an upset but came up short in three.
 
Eagles kill leader Raymond Barsemian was able to contribute vastly in that category, putting down a game-high 11 kills. Freshman sensation Gil Herold was the secret weapon to the offense, hitting .615 on 8 kills on 13 attempts with no errors. Distributing the ball today were the freshmen duo of McLain Mott and Christian Oviedo who had 14 and 12 assists respectively.
 
CUI went toe-to-toe with BYU early on after Barsemian and Jordan Hoppe delivered kills to tie the first set at seven-all. The Cougars pushed ahead and despite late kills from Hoppe and Herold, the home team conquered the set.
 
In the Eagles best offensive set, the team hit .240 with nine kills, which kept them closer to the Cougars in the second. Barsemian collected a kill and BYU hit out to give Concordia a 9-8 lead. Trailing further down the stretch, Herold was reliable, siding out for his team in back-to-back sequences to creep within four.
 
Concordia had its strength in the early stages of each set, that being similar in the third. The team had a lead at 7-6 and set up multiple ties later on. The Cougars would strike in runs but errors caused the Eagles to stay close behind. A late resurrection on the pin from sub Parker Maki occurred as the senior delivered two kills, including one that fought off a BYU match point.
 
The Eagles remain on the road for another MPSF match-up, taking on No. 12 Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. For the full men's volleyball schedule, click here.