LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Not only did the CUI men's volleyball team play their first conference game of the season but they played against newly ranked No. 1 UCLA on the road. The Eagles challenged the Bruins taking them to four sets with scores 21-25, 16-25, 25-20, and 18-25.
 
Middles stood out defensively throughout the match as both Gil Herold and Max McCullough had a combined seven blocks. Freshman McCullough threw down four kills while hitting a .500 hitting percentage.
 
Setter McLain Mott dished out 23 assists while taking front row of the leader board for the Green and Gold with four blocks alongside McCullough. Mott led the Eagles with six digs while libero Danny Smithers had three with 17 receptions.
 
Junior Uriel Batista finished with a double-digit night of 13 kills and the lone Eagle to earn two solo and two block assists. Outsider hitters tallied for eight kills with Keegan Carey hitting a .600 the last two sets. Jonathan Carlson had three blocks and dug up five from the back.
 
The third set was in favor of CUI as they held UCLA from going on a run and only allowing them to earn one or two points at a time. The Eagles extended their lead in the set from hitting errors from the Bruins and were not able to catch up. Knowing that the Eagles knew they had to win the fourth, they brought it all on the court. However, UCLA held CUI from going on runs and get any momentum going and were able to close out the match in four.
 
The Eagles will be back on the court for their conference home opener and face off against UCLA in a rematch on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.

CLICK HERE to purchase TICKETS ahead of time for Friday night's match. NOTE: Concordia no longer accepts cash payments at the gate for tickets. All ticket sales are online through our Hometown Ticketing page.

Please note that masks are also no longer required inside CU Arena for fully vaccinated guests.  Per California state health and safety guidlines, only non-vaccinated individuals are required to wear a mask while indoors.

Thank you for your cooperation.

To see the full CUI men's volleyball schedule, click HERE.