IRVINE, Calif. – The third time was the charm for Concordia as they defeated No. 7 UC Irvine, 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19) at CU Arena Tuesday.

The Anteaters, who won the first two meetings of the year with the Eagles, even their record at 7-7 overall. Concordia goes to 7-10.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Junior Joel Schneidmiller and sophomore Alexandre Nsakanda led UCI with 16 kills each. Schneidmiller had a double-double with 11 kills plus an ace and five blocks

>Middle blocker Scott Stadick led all players with 10 block assists

>Middle blocker Sean Dennis hit .625 (6-1-8), while JB Kam matched Schneidmiller with a team-best 11 digs

>A trio of Eagles had kills in double-digit kills with Jordan Hoppe recording a match-best 19 kills. Raymond Barsemian had 15 kills and 12 kills

>Concordia topped UCI in aces 7-2

TURNING POINTS
FIRST SET
>Concordia would make the first move on two aces and an Anteater attack error, 7-4
>A 4-1 run by the Eagles extended the lead to 19-12
>UCI tried to rally on a kill by Alexandre Nsakanda and a block by Scott Stadick and Joel Schneidmiller, 22-18
>Concordia closed out the set on a 3-1 run to take the set 25-19

SECOND SET
>With the score tied 7-7, UCI scored the next four, three blocks by the combination of Stadick, Patrick Vorenkamp and Schneidmiller to open an 11-7 lead
>Three straight kills by Concordia tied the set at 16-16 then a UCI attack error handed the Eagles the lead 17-16
>Three kills by Schneidmiller,  a Concordia ball-handling error and a block followed putting UCI back on top 21-17
>Concordia had two blocks to close to 21-20, but a kill by Nsakanda and another block by Stadick and Nsakanda pushed the lead back out to 23-20
>A Schneidmiller ace would end the set 25-22

THIRD SET
>Concordia jumped out to a 5-1 advantage
>Kills by Nsakanda and Sean Dennis plus a Nsakanda ace knotted the score at 16 all
>CUI would score the next two and the teams would trade points until kills by Raymond Barsemian and Jordan Hoppe gave the set to Concordia, 25-22

FOURTH SET
>A couple of kills and an ace gave the Eagles an 8-4 advantage
>Concordia would lead 15-9 before three consecutive kills by Jonny Bowles narrowed the margin to 15-12
>The Eagles responded with the next two points and wouldn't relinquish control, winning 25-19

NOTES
>Stadick has recorded 10 or more total blocks six times this season
>UCI is 1-3 on the road this season

UP NEXT
>UCI welcomes No. 8 Grand Canyon Friday (Feb. 28) at the Bren Events Center. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear denim as UCI participates in World Rare Disease Awareness Day.