GCU Extends Winning Streak to Four

Thursday, March 13

Antelope Gymnasium

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

10-11

Limestone

11-9

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Limestone	20	20	17	0
Grand Canyon	25	25	25	3

Michael Milstein had seven aces and 34 assists in a win over UC Merced.

Photo by: Darryl Webb

3/13/2014 2:05:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

'Lopes Take on Bobcats, Saints Again Friday

Grand Canyon extended its win streak to four matches with two 3-0 wins at Antelope Gymnasium Thursday.

GCU (10-11) wrapped up a sweep of UC Merced and Limestone with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-17 victory over the Saints in the nightcap. The ''Lopes beat UC Merced in the afternoon 25-17, 25-15, 25-17.

"Our serving was the difference all day in both matches," said GCU coach Jeremy Price. "When you have a 1-to-1 ace-to-error ratio, create a lot of overpasses and sideout and 70 percent, that's generally a recipe for success."

GCU had seven aces and only seven errors against Limestone, while the Saints had just one ace and eight errors. Ben Ponnet, for the second straight weekend, tied the school mark for kills in a three-set match with 20. He hit .324 (20-9-34) and had three aces and four digs. Middle blocker Connor Dougherty had 10 kills and hit .750 with just one error in 12 attempts. Setter Keith Smith had 39 assists, six digs and was part of four blocks. Gerrard Lipscombe and Jared Morrison each had six digs and Keaton Berry was also part of four blocks.

The teams meet again Friday with GCU and UC Merced meeting at noon and the 'Lopes and Saints going at it at 7 p.m. UC Merced takes on Limestone at 3.

In the opener, freshman setter Michael Milstein had seven service aces and 34 assists. Robbie Brannick had 14 kills and a .417 (14-4-24) attack percentage. Middle blockers Christian Ward and Aquiles Montoya combined for 10 kills on 13 attempts with no errors and were part of seven blocks.

"(Milstein) did a real nice job and was ready to play," said Price. "His five aces in the first set really set the tone.

"I like what Robbie Brannick brought. He showed senior leadership (with his 14 kills) and our middles, with that kind of production, you're going to win matches."

GCU 3, UCM 0
GCU 3, LC 0