Season Preview: Men's Volleyball

Wednesday, January 7

GCU Arena

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

USC

Ryan Mather (10), Puna Kaniho (3), Christian Ward (19) and Luke Turner (12) compete during Saturday's exhibition against Grande Prairie.

Photo by: Darryl Webb

1/5/2015 7:13:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

The 2015 Grand Canyon University men's volleyball season gets underway Wednesday with the home opener against No. 7 USC.

The opener is the first of nine matches – including eight in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association -- against teams currently in the AVCA Preseason Top 15. The match against the Trojans will be played at GCU Arena and televised locally by Cox7. Fans out of the area can catch the action at www.cox7.com.

Along with USC, the Lopes have four opponents inside their own conference that are receiving national attention, including No. 2 Loyola, the defending national champion; No. 9 Lewis, a national tournament qualifier; No. 14 Ohio State and No. 15 IPFW.

"We play in a very challenging conference in the MIVA and you have to be ready to compete every night," said GCU coach Jeremy Price.

Last year's club went 14-18 overall and 2-12 in league play. The Antelopes graduated their biggest class in program history, including all-time kills leader and All-MIVA outside hitter Ben Ponnet, setter Keith Smith, a starter for three-plus seasons, and the team's most efficient middle hitter in Connor Dougherty.

"I'm disappointed how we finished in the conference last year, but we played well in non-conference matches," added Price. "We want to replicate what we did in non-conference and use that to prepare us for our conference schedule."

This year's squad has a nice mix of veterans and newcomers. Twelve players return from last year's roster, though three were redshirts. Eleven newcomers round out the 23-man roster.

One of the team's strongest areas this season will be its middle hitters. Senior Keaton Berry started 20 matches a year ago and was fifth on the team in overall kills with 105. Junior Christian Ward saw limited time last year after having an emergency tonsillectomy. Two years ago, he was one most productive freshman in the MIVA with 95 blocks and 157 kills. He was only able to play 11 matches last season. Redshirt-junior Sean Saxton saw action in 30 sets as a sophomore, while redshirt-freshman Ashton King transfers over from Pacific, which eliminated its program after last season. Freshman Blake Gorman and senior (injury) Aquiles Montoya are slated to redshirt this season.

For the first time in four seasons, GCU will have a new leader in kills. With the graduation of Ponnet, junior Gerrard Lipscombe returns as the most experienced Lope on the outside. Lipscombe started 20 matches last season and had 198 kills, second most on the team. GCU gets a boost on the outside with senior Jon Schaefer, a transfer from Limestone. Schaefer was an all-Conference Carolinas selection last season with 257 kills and a 2.86 kills per set average. Three freshmen, Shalev Saada, Luke Turner and Cody Williams can all be expected to contribute some time during the season, along with junior Andrew Muys, who started 10 times last year and had one of the best individual matches of the season when he had 22 kills, hit .595 and was part of eight blocks in a five-set match against Hope International. Cullen Mosher is also back after a redshirt season in 2014.

Price welcomes back junior Ryan Mather, an injury redshirt last season. Mather was a two-time All-MIVA choice as a middle hitter. He will be an opposite side hitter in 2015. Tanner Maxwell, one of the most versatile players and in the mix for time at setter, also can play on the opposite side. Freshmen Trent Mathews and Kevin Dodsworth are expected to redshirt.

At setter, sophomore Michael Milstein and redshirt-frosh Puna Kaniho are battling to take the spot occupied by Smith since 2011. Milstein played in 35 sets last season and had 49-assist match in a five-setter against Hope International. Maxwell also adds depth to the spot, while newcomer Kaehu Kaa will redshirt.

For the second straight season, GCU will have a new starting libero. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Miller and incoming freshmen Sky Engleman and Josh Phalen are all expected to get court time. Miller comes from Mission Viejo (CA) High School, the same that produced the program's all-time digs leader, Trent Bruns, now a graduate assistant with the Lopes.

"We look different than we have the last couple of years," added Price. "It's a completely different look, but it's exciting. Our transfers will make an immediate impact and our freshman will impact this year and beyond."

2015 Roster
2015 Schedule