Eagles silence Santa Cruz on Senior Night

Recap, photo courtesy Concordia University Irvine

Concordia Men's Volleyball sent off its four seniors Friday night in CU Arena with a win over UC Santa Cruz. The three-set sweep  set them at an even 14-14 on the year with one conference game remaining. Josiah Bergt, Taylor Falduti, Jonathan Predney and Jacob Weiser's careers at Concordia were celebrated for their accomplishments not only this year, but all four years as Eagles. 

The Seniors: Entering Friday's game, Bergt appeared in 91 sets, with 108 kills, and 41 blocks. Against the Banana Slugs, Bergt posted a match high 11 kills with four digs, two block assists and a .217 attack percentage. 

In Falduti's career, he has tallied 512 kills, 52 service aces, 27 solo blocks and 334 total blocks. He holds the all-time career records in, total blocks, sets played, matches played and service aces. He is second all-time in points scored and fourth in kills. He proved Friday why he was named MPSF Defeender of the Week. Falduti registered seven block assists to accompany a .500 hitting percentage. 

Predney holds the all-time school record in kills with 712 total and points scored with 830. He is also top five in kills per set, attack attempts, aces, digs, block assists, total blocks and sets played. He also holds the top spot for most kills in a single match with 29. On senior night, Predney posted 10 kills, hit .421 and added four digs. 

Weiser was named MPSF Conference Defender of the Week once this year and leads the conference in digs. He is second all-time in digs per set and first all-time in total digs with 535. He is also top 10 in assists and sets played. This year, he set a career high 17 digs in a single match in the win over USC. 

The Match: Although Santa Cruz started off hot, Concordia remained cool and collected until they forged a three-point scoring run led by two Predney kills and one from Bergt to even the game at eight. The Eagles continued to utilize offensive power from Bergt and Hunter Howell along with a few Banana Slug errors to push ahead to a six point lead. Predney closed out the 25-18 win on the set from Isaiah Kaaa. 

In game two, Concordia's pin hitters kept it rolling with the help of freshman Jonathan Carlson. With an 11-8 lead, Bergt and Carlson put away back to back sets. Then, Bergt and Falduti combined for a stuff block to extend the advantage to six. With Santa Cruz pushing back, Predney put down two straight and then nabbed a block assist along side Falduti for game point. Bergt buried a Kaaa set to secure game number two for the Eagles. 

With Falduti applying pressure from the service line, Alec Krilis tallied a kill and a block to give Concordia the early 7-2 lead. The Eagles' engine wasn't slowing down. The team hit .333 in the final set, fueled by kills from Bergt and Parker Maki. In addition to the offense, the Eagles proved why they are one of the top blocking teams in the MPSF. They tallied five stuff blocks, the final coming from the Carlson, Kaaa and Falduti trio. On set point, Kaaa tossed a set behind his back to connect with Falduti flying off of one foot for the final point. 

Eagle Eye:  Along with a solid performance from all four seniors, CUI was led by junior setter Kaaa. Kaaa paced the offense to an overall .312 hitting percentage with 34 assists, six block assists and six digs. 

What's Next: Saturday, April 7th the Eagles take on the Trojans of USC for their final match of the regular season. Earlier this year, CUI defeated the Trojans in four sets. Saturday's game is slated for 7 p.m. in the CU Arena.