IRVINE, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran men's volleyball team rallied from two sets down to force a fifth set against Concordia-Irvine on Friday night, but fell short against the Eagles 3-2 (25-20, 28-26, 22-25, 19-25, 15-7).

After dropping the first set 25-20, the Kingsmen took the Eagles to extras in the second but fell short 28-26 to find themselves in a 2-0 hole. CLU rallied back in the third set with a 25-22 nail-biter and tied the match up in the fourth after producing a season-best hitting percentage of .433. In the fifth set, the Eagles seized the momentum early on and jumped out to an 11-4 lead before taking the set and the match.

Offensive Highlights: Kristian Gallardo led the Kingsmen with a season-best tally of 16 kills while Patrick Rowe registered 12 and Michael Campbell finished with seven. Nick Shoemate tied his career-high with 45 assists and led the team with three service aces.

Defensive Highlights: CLU recorded 20 total blocks in the match led by Campbell's five and four apiece from Shoemate and Nicholas Oertli. Jamal Balkhi finished with a season-high 14 digs.

The Opponent: Concordia-Irvine (8-6) was led by Jonathon Predney, who had 16 kills while Alec Krilis and Andrew Hammer also reached double figures with 12 and 11, respectively. Chandler Gibb racked up 25 assists and Isaiah Pono Kaaa logged 12. Jacob Weiser had a game-high 15 digs.

Cal Lutheran (0-5) will return to the friendly confines of Gilbert Arena for its next match this Tuesday, Jan. 31 against Santa Monica City College at 6:00 p.m.

Box Score: CUI 3, CLU 2
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