GCU improves to 3-0; best start since 1999

Friday, August 28

W 3-1

Grand Canyon

Colorado School of Mines

8/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

GOLDEN, Colo. -- Grand Canyon used a dominant attack from freshman Caelen Hiller to get Friday's first win and a balanced attack to win the second in victories over Fort Lewis and host Colorado School of Mines in the Holiday Inn Oredigger Classic at Lockridge Arena.

Hiller had 28 kills and a .500 attack percentage in a 3-2 victory over Fort Lewis. The Lopes won by set scores of 17-25, 25-12, 25-15, 24-26, 15-10.

GCU improved to 3-0 on the season with a 3-1 victory over the host Orediggers. GCU had four players with double-digit kills in the 16-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22 triumph.

The 3-0 start is the team's best since 1999 when it began the year 5-0.

Grand Canyon has a chance to go 5-0 Saturday when it wraps up classic play with matches against Western State and Adams State.

In the opener, senior Dana Edington added 11 kills, 15 digs and three service aces. Hiller also had 10 digs.

Sophomore Laurann Durbin had a team-high 17 digs, while sophomore Lisa Ramirez (pictured) added 10. Freshman setter Kristen Preach had 44 assists and freshman Katie Peterson, in her first GCU match, had five total blocks.

In the win over Mines, Hiller had a team-best 16 kills and added 13 digs. She had plenty of support with junior Megan Toth, who in her first match of the season had 14 kills. Edington and senior Whitney Estes each had 10 kills. Preach had 49 assists, 10 digs and eight kills.

Durbin led in digs again with 17 and added two aces. Estes had four blocks.

In the opener, GCU had a team attack percentage of .265 and a solid .253 in the second. Edington hit .409 in the Mines victory and .310 against Ft. Lewis.