Grand Canyon University Athletics
Monday, January 9
Santa Cruz, CA
8 p.m.
Grand Canyon
1-2
3
at
1
UC Santa Cruz
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 3 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 19 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 1 |
Sophomore setter Keith Smith helped lead Grand Canyon to its first win of the season at UC Santa Cruz Monday.
GCU Picks Up First WIn Of 2012 At UC Santa Cruz
1/9/2012 9:37:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
For the second straight season, Grand Canyon got its first win against UC Santa Cruz.
The Antelopes (1-2) opened 2011 with a victory over UCSC at Antelope Gymnasium. Monday, they downed the Banana Slugs 3-1 by set scores of 25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 in Santa Cruz, Calif.
"We got our first victory and we did it on the road in a full gym with a great environment," said GCU second-year head coach Jeremy Price.
Trailing 15-14 in the fourth set, Grand Canyon scored the next three points and never trailed again. A service ace from Andre Fajardo helped start the comeback.
Price praised the play of sophomore sophomore setter Keith Smith. ":He made good decisions running our offense," said the coach.
GCU started three freshmen - middle hitters Ryan Mather and Keaton Berry and outside hitter Ryan Olson. It was the first start of the season for Berry and Olson.
"We had our chances (to win) the last two days (at Pacific) and we came up short, so it's good to finish one off," said Price. "We hope to take the momentum into our first home weekend and protect our homecourt."
Smith had 43 assists, 12 digs and six block assists. Jordon Tarantino had a team-high 14 kills and Ben Ponnet added 13. Mather had eight kills and eight total blocks, including seven block assists.
GCU had 15 total blocks. Berry had five block assists. Libero Trent Bruns had a match-high 21 digs. Olson, Ponnet and Andre Fajardo each had two service aces.
GCU returns home for three matches this weekend at GCU Arena. The Antelopes take on NJIT both Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. They play UC San Diego, which upset No. 11 Hawaii over the weekend, Sunday at 2 p.m.
GCU 3, UCSC 1
The Antelopes (1-2) opened 2011 with a victory over UCSC at Antelope Gymnasium. Monday, they downed the Banana Slugs 3-1 by set scores of 25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 in Santa Cruz, Calif.
"We got our first victory and we did it on the road in a full gym with a great environment," said GCU second-year head coach Jeremy Price.
Trailing 15-14 in the fourth set, Grand Canyon scored the next three points and never trailed again. A service ace from Andre Fajardo helped start the comeback.
Price praised the play of sophomore sophomore setter Keith Smith. ":He made good decisions running our offense," said the coach.
GCU started three freshmen - middle hitters Ryan Mather and Keaton Berry and outside hitter Ryan Olson. It was the first start of the season for Berry and Olson.
"We had our chances (to win) the last two days (at Pacific) and we came up short, so it's good to finish one off," said Price. "We hope to take the momentum into our first home weekend and protect our homecourt."
Smith had 43 assists, 12 digs and six block assists. Jordon Tarantino had a team-high 14 kills and Ben Ponnet added 13. Mather had eight kills and eight total blocks, including seven block assists.
GCU had 15 total blocks. Berry had five block assists. Libero Trent Bruns had a match-high 21 digs. Olson, Ponnet and Andre Fajardo each had two service aces.
GCU returns home for three matches this weekend at GCU Arena. The Antelopes take on NJIT both Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. They play UC San Diego, which upset No. 11 Hawaii over the weekend, Sunday at 2 p.m.
GCU 3, UCSC 1
Team Stats
GCU
UCSC
Kills
49
46
Errors
21
26
Attempts
133
134
Hitting %
.211
.149
Points
72.0
56.0
Assists
43
43
Aces
8
2
Blocks
15.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Tuesday, June 16
Monday, June 15
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11