LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Playing in historic Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA, the Concordia University Irvine men's volleyball team gave the USC Trojans all they could handle in the opening round of the MPSF Tournament.

As the No. 7 seed, CUI proved it is difficult to beat a team three times in a season by turning in a gutsy effort against the second-seeded Trojans.

The Eagles saw their seniors step up with solid contributions across the board but unfortunately, CUI's season came to a close as USC prevailed 25-19, 25-22, 25-19.

Uriel Batista looked sharp in warmups and early in the match.  After piling up five quick kills, he unfortunately had to leave the game due to injury with USC up 11-9 in the first set. 

Recently named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week Owen Chun entered shortly afterwards and quickly made an impact with a couple of strong swings.  He helped CUI draw within 13-12 after smashing a kill as the Eagles looked to feed his side of the court just as they had with Batista.

Chun finished with a team-high 10 kills to pace the Green and Gold.

A well-timed kill by Keegan Carey helped CUI rally to tie the second set at 14-14 after the Eagles fell behind by four. However, USC escaped with a 25-22 victory in the second set to seize control.

CUI stayed close in the third set but the Trojans ultimately won in three.

Jonathan Carlson led the backline with 22 receptions while Makai Lipson handed out a team-high 24 assists to go with eight digs.

Senior Erik Boisvert added six digs and 13 receptions. Logan Glave added five kills and 10 receptions as well as four digs.

CLICK HERE for a look at the full 2022 CUI men's volleyball schedule