IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine men's volleyball team battled the visiting Harvard Crimson to five sets on Wednesday night in a rare matinee that began at an early 5 p.m. start time.

There were many bright spots for the Golden Eagles in a match that they led 2-1 and were in the entire night.

Freshman setter Yotam Briger handed out a career-high 53 assists against Harvard. A large chunk went to a pair of fellow freshmen who have come on strong this spring.

Ties Cornelissen smacked 23 kills and hit .362 in one of the strongest showings of his young CUI career. The outside hitter from the Netherlands was just one kill away from tying his career-high of 24 that he set a few weeks ago in a home win over Charleston.

Christian Galoppo added 11 kills and contributed a season-high 16 digs, which were double his previous career-high of eight. It is also the first double-double for Galoppo in a Concordia uniform.

Sophomore libero Jacob Reilly wore the green jersey and once again was a rock on the back line. He scooped up 39 receptions with zero receiving errors in addition to compiling a season-high 15 digs. It's the third time he has collected at least 15 digs in a match. His career-high is 19 digs as a freshman in a home win last season over nationally-ranked Loyola Chicago.

The middles played well with Maxwell McCullough hitting .318 with eight kills and five blocks. Clement Osahon Jr. added seven kills on 15 swings with a block. He hit .400 for the match and continues to look more and more comfortable out on the court over the past few weeks.

CUI won the first and third sets by identical scores of 25-18. In between, Harvard survived the second set with a 25-23 victory to extend the match.

Makua Marumoto gave his squad a boost with an ace and a couple smart serves that helped position CUI in the fourth. However, Harvard rebounded and ran away with the fifth set to pull out a hard-fought victory.

The Golden Eagles will regroup and set their sights next on No. 9 Pepperdine. Coach Chris Seiffert's squad visits Malibu this Saturday, March 16 for a MPSF conference rematch starting at 5 p.m.

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