PORTLAND, Ore. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team dropped a pair of close matches to two strong nationally-recognized programs Saturday in the McDonald & Wetle Concordia Challenge.
 
CSUSM went the distance with Eastern Oregon in the first match with three of the sets being decided by two points. Final scores were 23-25, 27-25, 16-25, 26-24 and 8-15. In the spotlight match of the night against host Concordia (Ore.), the Cougars fought hard before falling in four sets (19-25, 25-18, 13-25, 22-25).
 
Junior Jordan Banich collected two more double-double performances, posting 20 kills and 17 digs against EOU only to follow with 21 kills and 11 digs against Concordia.  Senior Alyssa Foster dished out 94 assists while freshman Samantha Flores tallied 46 digs on the day. Freshman Cheyenne Richards posted nine kills against Eastern Oregon and senior Alyssa Hubbard six kills against Concordia.
 
After falling 25-23 in the first set, CSUSM edged Eastern Oregon 27-25 with three consecutive points starting with a kill by Markisha Henderson-Diaz.  The Mountaineers snagged the third set at 25-16, but CSUSM would not go quietly into the night.  Down 24-21, the Cougars rallied back behind three Banich kills, a Flores ace and a double block by Banich and sophomore Morgan Willis.
 
Against Concordia, the Cougars once again dropped the first set of the match but evened it with a 10-3 run to earn a 25-18 win.  The Cavaliers captured the final two sets to take the match.
 
The Cougars (1-3) are back in action next weekend, competing in the Biola Summer Slam.  CSUSM faces Southern Oregon and Montana Tech on Thursday, Aug. 21.