IRVINE, Calif. – In another thrilling night of college men's volleyball, the Concordia Eagles added another significant win to their resume on Thursday, upsetting No. 8 Grand Canyon for its second top-ten win of the week.
"The opportunity to beat UCI and then beat the second-place team in the conference shows that we are right there with the top teams in the nation," said CUI head coach
Shawn Patchell. "The boys are believing in each other and we're going in the right direction."
The match was filled with much emotion and never-ending hustle plays, as the teams battled each other throughout the night, that resulted in three of the four sets being won by just two points.
It was another highlight night for senior
Raymond Barsemian, who put down 25 kills, which sets the single-match record for a four-set match in CUI history. He also hit .417 in the process to go along with his seven digs and two blocks.
Right behind him was
Jordan Hoppe who was impressive from all ends of the court, collecting 18 kills while hitting .500 and had six digs, two aces, and had 32 receptions with just one error.
"Raymond and Jordan had a phenomenal week together," said Patchell. "They both scored a ton of points for us and it all starts with the serve. The whole team is serving the ball better and when that happens you start passing the ball better."
The man behind the offense was freshman sensation
McLain Mott, who also set a four-set single-match record with 59 assists, which also ties for second-most in a match.
"It's really fun to set a team when everyone is jumping and really ripping hard" said Mott. "We passed super great, it's just a beautiful feeling to be able to facilitate and be a piece of the offense."
Grand Canyon held a slight edge to start off the match until Concordia was able to fight back with a 5-0 run and take a 19-17 lead. Barsemian delivered a kill to get to set point where the set ultimately ended with a GCU service error.
Barsemian put down consecutive kills followed by a Hoppe ace to get ahead 18-16 in the second. Lassandro earned a kill in the middle to put CUI up 23-22, with GCU scoring the final three points to even it at one set apiece.
The Eagles thrived off the offensive success from Barsemian who scored four straight to take a 11-7 lead in the third. Hoppe scored off a back-row swing and followed up with a block with
Owen Chun to go up by three, 23-20. The Lopes fought off two Eagles set points before Hoppe secured the set with a roll shot.
Concordia maintained a four-point advantage throughout the set to keep a constant pace for a home team victory. The Lopes had a service error to put the Eagles perched on match point that Barsemian delivered with a cross-court attack to end the match.
CUI improves to 8-10 overall and 2-4 in MPSF play. The Eagles have a week off before returning back to the gym where they host a pair of non-conference matches on Thursday, Mar. 5 against Westcliff (12 p.m.) and UC Santa Cruz (7 p.m.).
For the full men's volleyball schedule, click here.
