Kills by
Keith Smith and
Erik Jansen broke a 15-15 fifth-set tie and Grand Canyon – for the second time in three matches – rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Concordia-Irvine, the 2014 NAIA national champion, 3-2 at CU Arena in Irvine, Calif., Friday.
Grand Canyon had not rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the program's first five years of existence, but is 2-1 this season with two late match wins already recorded in the 2014 season. GCU beat Pacific 3-2 last week in similar fashion.
Against Concordia, the Antelopes won by set scores of 21-25, 23-25, 29-27, 25-20, 17-15.
"The fact we did it last week on the road and against a MPSF team shows we're a pretty good team and then coming back and doing it against the No. 1 team in NAIA says a lot about our team, too," said coach Jeremy Price. "Since we've done it before, our guys know it's possible."
Four Antelopes had double figures in kills.
Ben Ponnet led the way with 14 and added nine digs and four block assists. Off the bench,
Erik Jansen had 12 kills, hit .348 and had two block assists.
Gerrard Lipscombe, who came off the bench and was instrumental in last week's comeback at Pacific, had 11 kills and hit .375 with three block assists. Middle blocker
Keaton Berry had 10 kills and hit .529 to go with three block assists.
"Gerrard and Erik came off the bench and were outstanding and efficient," said Price. "They did the things we needed to come back. Our middles, (Berry and
Connor Dougherty) were outstanding, too."
Senior Dougherty tallied seven kills, hit. 500 and was part of a match-best nine blocks - - a career-high -- including one solo.
Libero
Jared Morrison had 15 digs, while setter Smith had a double-double with 55 assists and 12 digs.
"I thought Keith had a great match and Jared Morrison was so good in serve receive," added Price.
The Antelopes had more digs (58-45), blocks (12-11.5) and service aces (6-4) and hit for a better percentage (.259-.196). GCU hit .379 in the third set and .400 in the fifth.
In the 29-27 third set win, redshirt-freshman
Kyle Miller made his first collegiate appearance and served the final two points.
GCU plays two matches Saturday at CU Arena. The Antelopes take on Springfield, the NCAA Division III national champion last season, at 4 p.m., Arizona time, and have a rematch with Concordia at 8.
Fans can follow live stats and live video of both matches with links at
www.gculopes.com.
GCU 3, CU 2