LONG BEACH, Calif. – After coming off a sweep against Ottawa, the Concordia University Irvine men's volleyball team turned around to compete against No. 3 Long Beach State Friday. The Eagles fell to the Beach with scores 20-25, 17-25, and a close 25-27.
 
Outside hitter Erik Boisvert led CUI with nine kills and scooping up seven digs from the back. Jonathan Carlson and Uriel Batista had a combined of nine kills. Owen Chun had five kills along with a career-high night of seven digs.

The middles continue to make their appearance known on the court with Max McCullough throwing down six kills and one solo block. Mason Mullins went 3-for-5 and Gil Herold made an impact for the Eagles with three blocks that came at clutch moments in the match.
 
Makai Lipson and McLain Mott shared the setter role tonight with Lipson dishing out 22 and Mott contributing with seven. Freshman Danny Smithers and Kobe Kiley wore the libero jersey and had a combined of eight solid digs.
 
The first set was close as the Eagles tied the set six times and had a couple lead changes throughout but the Beach was able to break away and take the win. Tough serving from LBSU was a contributor to the second set and allowed them to push to 25 first.
 
The third set was a battle for CUI as they kept within reach to try to knock a set off No. 3 Long Beach. A block by Herold and Lipson and attack error by the Beach brought the Eagles within one point forcing a Long Beach timeout. A kill from Chun with the assist from Kiley tied the set at 23 a-piece. A strong defensive block from Herold and Boisvert earns the Green and Gold another point and another timeout from the opposing team. Out of the timeout the Beach earned a kill, but not to be outdone by Chun taking a 25-24 lead. The consecutive kills from the Beach closed out the match but went into extra points and finished 25-27.
 
The Eagles look ahead to play against No. 9 Grand Canyon for back-to-back days in the CU Arena starting on Friday, Mar. 25 and Mar. 26 with both slated times to start at 7 p.m.
 
To see the full CUI men's volleyball schedule click HERE.