SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine men's volleyball team is kicked off two game week on the road against UC Santa Barbara. The Golden Eagles battled it out in the third trying to take the Gauchos to a four set but UCSB was able to close out the match with scores 25-13, 25-20, and 29-27.
 
The Green and Gold had a slight edge as they took a 16-11 lead over the Gauchos in the third. UC Santa Barbara slowly trickled back into the game and tied the game at 23 a-piece and continued to go back and forth between the two teams. Ultimately the Gauchos finished the match with an ace and kill.
 
Sophomore Ties Cornelissen recorded a team-high of two solo blocks and added four kills. Marcus Morgan joined in on the blocks and had one solo and one block assist while leading CUI with eight kills.
 
Middle Clement Osahon Jr. had seven kills with Kasey Clouet contributed with two. Makua Marumoto finished the night with three kills and a solo block. Gage Doble was another pin hitter that put down five kills and no errors throughout the match hitting an impressive .556.
 
Colin Marks ran the offense and dished out 24 assists. Ryan Sears led the defense in the libero jersey and had six digs from the back row.
 
The Golden Eagles will get another long stretch of seven consecutive home games held in the CU Arena. They will first take on The Master's Friday Jan. 31 with a 7 p.m. start time.
 
To see the full CUI men's volleyball schedule click HERE.