GCU drops straight sets in Irvine

Thursday, February 22

Irvine, Calif.

8 P.M.

Grand Canyon

11-6, 1-4MPSF

Concordia

7-5, 2-2MPSF

Team	1	2	3	Final F
GCU	34	19	28	0
Concordia, Irvine	36	25	30	3

Photo by: Troy Makalena

2/22/2018 11:19:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Weary earns first start but Lopes drop fourth-straight

By: Alex Nash

IRVINE, CALIF. – The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team fell on the road to Concordia in a hard fought three-set match on Thursday night. Set scores were 34-36, 19-25 and 28-30. The loss has GCU's record reading 11-6 and 1-4 in conference play while Concordia improves to 6-6.

The loss was the Lopes first true road defeat of the year but the match was held close throughout the night. GCU lead in blocks with eight and the two sides tied in digs while the Eagles led in kills, aces and assists by three or less in every category.

One story line from the night would be Trevor Weary, one game after making his GCU debut, earned his first career start and posted seven kills, one ace, 10 digs and a .294 hitting percentage. Overall the Lopes attack was headed by Ashton King and his match-leading 13 kills on a robust .545 hitting mark in addition to an ace. Cody Williams added 11 kills while Puna Kaniho contributed 36 assists. On defense, both Williams and King led with three blocks each and Sky Engleman had double-digit digs for the second straight match with 13.

The first set was a preview of the overall match, an all-out battle. Both sides traded blows and the lead until a 0-3 Concordia run forced a GCU timeout with the score reading 15-16. The Eagles would keep their lead until Williams landed back-to-back kills and tied the match at 24. The tie would propel GCU to their longest set of 2018, going on until Concordia pulled away to take the set 34-36.

The Lopes wouldn't gain traction in the second set, hitting at a .107 mark while a .346 mark carried the Eagles to a 0-2 match lead. The third set was more like the first with both teams trading shots. Concordia was held to their lowest hitting percentage of the match but stayed in control until a Weary kill tied the set at 14, giving the Lopes some life. From there, the set would be tied six more times until the Lopes pulled away by two. Concordia kept their composure though and tied the set at 24, forcing another overtime. The score read 28-27 before the Eagles secured three points in a row to take the set and the match.

Looking ahead

The Lopes look to get back in the win column against a struggling USC squad in Los Angeles. The match is set for Saturday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. (MST).