HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University fell in a 3-0 sweep to Concordia Irvine in PacWest Conference play on Saturday night at St. Andrew's Priory's James Castle Gym.
 
The Sharks (7-14, 5-8) dropped the straight sets to the Eagles (13-8, 9-5) 15-25, 21-25, 14-25.
 
"There is a reason Concordia was voted as the preseason favorite," said head coach Jenic Tumaneng. "They played really well. We need to regroup and be ready to play again tomorrow night."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
The Sharks hit only .026 for the match, while collecting 6.0 team blocks. The Eagles hit .311 with 5.0 team blocks.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, led the Sharks with five killes , while senior middle Lea Felton of Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis posted four kills with three blocks and hit .333 for the match.
 
Concordia had an outstanding match from Cindy Tran who posted 10 kills and a .471 hitting percentage. Rachel Flynn added nine kills for the Eagles.
 
The Sharks and Eagles battled through five ties and four lead changes in the first set as HPU pulled to within one at 15-14 on a kill from senior Alyson Brunner from Willows, Calif./Willow. But the Eagles followed with a 9-0 run that all but put the set away. HPU broke the run on a block by freshman Abigail Wilmington of Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River, before Flynn's kill gave CUI the set 25-15.
 
The Sharks controlled the tempo for most of the second set. Even with seven ties, HPU held the advantage for most of the set and built a four-point lead at 17-13 on a kill by Felton. The Sharks battled to a 19-16 lead when the set unraveled. Concordia went on a 4-0 run to lead 20-19 before HPU scored to tie it at 20 all. Then the Eagles added a second 4-0 run, then traded  points with the Sharks to win the set 25-21 on a kill from Kyra Auten.
 
The Sharks played CUI close early in the third set, tying the set three times until reaching 7-7. But Concordia ripped off a 10-0 run. HPU followed with a 5-0 run to pull within 17-12, only to see the Eagles counter with a 5-0 run. The teams traded points until Auten's kill ended the match with a 25-14 win.
 
HPU doesn't have much time to think about the loss as it hosts Notre Dame de Namur in a 6 p.m. match Sunday at St. Andrew's Priory.