Antelopes earn 3-1 win over Southwestern

Tuesday, September 14

GCU

6:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Southwestern Bible College

Erica Ehlo

9/14/2010 11:39:01 PM | Women's Volleyball

By: Steve Heath

After a Game 1 setback, Grand Canyon defeated Southwestern 3-1 Tuesday at Antelope Gymnasium.

The Antelopes (3-7) won by set scores of 20-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-17.

GCU trailed from the outset of the opening game and got within one, 14-13, but no closer.

For the remainder of the match it was all GCU. The Antelopes hit .353 in the second set, getting six kills from freshman outside hitter Kaitlynn Ausmus (Glendale, AZ, Deer Valley), in 12 attempts. Ausmus finished with a team-high 14 kills.

“We were dialed in and focused on what we wanted to do,” said Ausmus. “We were focused on our passing and being consistent.”

GCU remained steady the rest of the way. A variety of hitters chimed in for the third set victory. Senior Megan Toth (Phoenix, AZ, Arcadia) had four kills. Ausmus and sophomore Erica Ehlo (Spokane, WA, Lewis and Clark) each had three and sophomore setter Kristen Preach (Phoenix, AZ, Xavier Prep) and junior hitter Stephanie McBride (Newbury Park, CA, Newbury Park) had two each. Preach had 11 assists.

In the fourth set, GCU got off to a quick start, leading 7-1. Southwestern got as close as five as late as 22-17, but the Antelopes wrapped it up with two kills from McBride and an Eagle attack error.

“I think we struggled, but I thought we came back after the first set and took control of the match,” said GCU coach Kris Naber. “The big thing was ‘expecting’ it. We were expecting to get a block and expecting to come out on top.”

GCU hit .300 in the fourth set and .254 for the match. McBride had seven kills and a .636 hitting percentage. Ausmus finished at .367.

Preach had 43 assists, four service aces and 10 digs. Ehlo had a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs. Junior libero Laurann Durbin (Phoenix, AZ, Sunnyslope) had a team-best 26 digs. Sophomore Sara Bowden (Tempe, AZ, Corona del Sol) added 10 digs. Toth finished with nine kills and sophomore middle hitter Shelby Taylor (Phoenix, AZ, Christian) had three block assists.

GCU upped its record to 6-0 in the all-time series against the nearby NAIA school. Tuesday’s match was the first time Southwestern had won a game in the series.

The Antelopes take on another in-state opponent 6 p.m. Friday, hosting Embry-Riddle at Antelope Gymnasium.

Box Score