Los Angeles, Calif. - The Concordia Irvine Golden Eagles faced one of the nation's toughest early-season tests Friday night, falling in straight sets to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. Despite the 3–0 result, CUI showed growth, resilience, and flashes of high-level play against a nationally ranked Bruins squad in its MPSF opener.

After a challenging opening set, the Golden Eagles settled in and competed more evenly as the match progressed. CUI nearly doubled its point total from the first set to the second, tightening its ball control and finding better offensive rhythm. The Eagles saved their strongest performance for the third set, hitting .320 as a team and pushing UCLA with extended rallies and improved execution.

Offensively, Ties Cornelissen led the Golden Eagles with 10 kills, while Logan Whitaker added nine kills, a team-high five digs, and an ace. Christian Galoppo contributed across the board with five kills, a block, and three assists, highlighting CUI's balanced attack. Setter Aidan Case paced the offense with 10 assists, while Matt Fisher added eight more as the Golden Eagles continued to experiment with lineups early in the season.

From the service line, Concordia applied pressure throughout the night, collecting four aces, including two from Paul Schulteis. Defensively, Nathan Habermas anchored the net with two blocks, helping slow down UCLA's potent middle attack during key stretches of play.

Facing a top-ranked opponent in a packed Pauley Pavilion, the Golden Eagles gained valuable experience that will pay dividends as conference play continues. While the result favored UCLA, Concordia's steady improvement set-to-set underscored the team's potential and competitive ceiling. With the early-season challenge behind them, the Golden Eagles will look to build on Friday's performance as they continue MPSF play and prepare for the next test on their schedule.

NEXT UP: 

The Golden Eagles lok forward to January 16th to their next home game against Springfield, set to begin at 6:00 PM

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