IRVINE, Calif. - It was a rematch of ranked teams Wednesday night as No. 12 Concordia welcomed No. 7 Pepperdine to CU Arena.

It was also the home opener for the Eagles and their first contest in Irvine since March of 2020.

Unfortunately, the result was not what the Green and Gold were hoping for. After battling for five sets on Monday evening in Malibu, the Waves swept the Eagles in three sets. The final tally was 25-22, 25-21, 25-19.

The Eagles hit over .350 in the second set and were led by Raymond Barsemian who racked up 21 kills. Barsemian also led CUI with three aces. However, Pepperdine emerged with a .387 hitting percentage and got stronger as the game progressed.

Jordan Hoppe, Noah Taitano and Gil Herold combined for 14 kills to help support Barsemian on the attack. Sophomore setter McLain Mott dished out 31 assists, while on the defensive end, it was a group effort as three different Eagles each compiled at least four digs or more.

Pepperdine improved to 8-0 against CUI in the series. The Eagles pushed the Waves to five sets in each of their previous two meetings and will get another chance to post their first win over Pepperdine when the teams meet up again in mid-February.

CUI gets a chance to rebound on Saturday, Jan. 30 when the Eagles host No. 10 Grand Canyon, another MPSF rival, in CU Arena. That game is slated to start at 7 p.m.

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