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The top offensive players for Concordia-Irvine are coming back for another season.
Coach Shawn Patchell informed Off the Block that senior outside attackers Raymond Barsemian and Jordan Hoppe will play for the Eagles in 2021 while pursuing advanced degrees at the university.
The NCAA granted men’s volleyball players an additional year of eligibility after the remainder of the 2020 season was canceled in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. This eligible ruling, which applied to all student-athletes in spring sports, resulted in seniors being able to return for another season in 2021.
Barsemian finished last season second in the MPSF and eighth in the nation with a 4.07 kills per game average as he earned First-Team All-MPSF honors and was an All-American Honorable Mention. He also had at least 20 kills in four matches, including a season-high 28 kills in a near road upset against Pepperdine.
The 2020 Concordia-Irvine Male Athlete of the Year already holds the school records with 857 career kills and 61 career aces.
Hoppe, a Second-Team All-MPSF selection, had double-digit kills in 10 matches during the shortened 2020 season. Among his top performances featured 12 kills while hitting .706 in a road sweep against USC — the third-best single-match attack percentage in program history.
Along with his offensive performance, Hoppe had at least 100 digs in back-to-back seasons.
Concordia-Irvine ended the season No. 13 in the national coaches poll and No. 3 in the Off the Block/FriscoMo Division II National Coaches Poll. In addition, the Eagles were on a five-match winning streak and tied for fifth place in the MPSF at the time the season was canceled.