IRVINE, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University lost its third straight match as Concordia Irvine took the PacWest Conference win 3-1 on Thursday at CU Arena.
 
The Eagles (16-10, 10-8) handed the Sharks (17-10, 13-6) a 26-24, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20 loss, splitting the season series with CUI.
 
HPU hit.178 for the match with seven team blocks, while the Eagles hit .252 with 14 team blocks.
 
 The Sharks got a pair of double-doubles, as senior Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico picked up 18 kills and 13 digs, while junior Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge had 15 kills and 12 digs with three blocks. Sophomore Nicole Ferris of Woodstock, Ga./Etowah, posted 13 kills with an attack percentage of .355. Junior Sierra Piester of Carlsbad, Calif./Tri-City Christian led the Sharks with four blocks.
 
CUI was paced by Jordan Mineer with 16 kills to go with five blocks, while Hannah Tostado added 10 kills and a .444 hitting percentage and led the Eagles with nine blocks. Riley Gill double-doubled with 10 kills and 12 digs.
 
The first set indeed set the tone for the match as the squads battled through 13 ties and seven lead changes in the opening frame. The Sharks used a 6-2 run to open a three-point lead midway through the set and held a 22-19 lead after a double-block by Ferris and sophomore Kirah Boynton-Brown of Vancouver, Wash./Union. The Eagles ripped back with a 3-0 run to knot the set at 22-all. The teams exchanged points and HPU faced set point up 24-23 after a Collie kill. The Eagles again came back with a pair of Patience O'Neal kills and a Shark error for the 26-24 win.
 
The Sharks broke open a 6-6 tie in the second set with a 5-0 run thanks in part to a pair of Escobar kills. HPU extended the lead to 15-9 after a Collie kill. CUI responded and tied the set at 15-all before HPU answered with a Ferris kill that sparked a 5-0 run to 20-15. HPU worked the lead to 22-17, then closed out the set with a 3-1 run as the Sharks won the set 25-18 on an Escobar kill.
 
In the third HPU and CUI tied at 15 only to see the Eagles take the momentum with a 3-1. The Sharks got within two at 23-21 after a Piester kill, but CUI got a kill from Mackenzie Jensen and closed out the set with a block by O'Neal and Jensen to win 25-21.
 
In the fourth, the Sharks built an early lead only to have Concordia tie the set at 11-all and 12-all. The homestanding Eagles picked up a Mineer kill to start a 5-1 for a four-point lead. HPU made two surges to get within two, the last on a kill by Christie to make it 22-20. However, CUI closed the match with three straight points and won it with a kill from Hannah Tostado 25-20.
 
HPU has a day off before closing its four-match southern California road trip. The Sharks visit league-leading Azusa Pacific on Saturday at 11 a.m. HST (1 p.m. PST) in the Felix Event Center.