Grand Canyon had its six-match win streak come to an end at No. 13 IPFW Thursday.
In a battle of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association rivals, GCU (12-12, 2-7) lost to IPFW (16-4, 5-3) 3-0 by set scores of 25-21, 25-14, 25-23.
GCU's
Ben Ponnet had a match-best 15 kills. Libero
Jared Morrison had a match-high 12 digs.
"We lost tonight at the service line," said GCU coach Jeremy Price. "They served extremely well and we didn't. We have to do a better job (Friday) handling theirs and we can't miss 12."
The Antelopes led early in the first and third sets. In the first, GCU led 5-3, on its lone ace of the match, from Ponnet, and again, 6-4, on a kill from
Connor Dougherty, but IPFW tied it 6-6 and took the lead for good at 7-6. GCU had seven of its 12 service errors in the first set. IPFW had three aces and only two errors in the opener.
GCU led 3-1 in the third and rallied from a four-point deficit to cut the match 24-22. It averted one set point on an IPFW service error, but the Mastadons were able to end the match on the next point.
In his lone set, the third,
Andrew Muys had three kills and hit .333 (3-1-6). The Antelopes hit .393 in the third. Ponnet had six kills each in the first and third sets.
Tanner Maxwell had six kills and hit .333 (6-1-15) for the match.
The teams meet again Saturday at 4 p.m. Arizona time. Fans can follow the live action with links at
www.gculopes.com.
IPFW 3, GCU 0