GCU Earns Stellar Four-Set Victory over UTRGV

Saturday, October 10

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

3-14, 1-4

UTRGV

8-11, 1-4

UTRGV

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Darryl Webb

10/10/2015 6:51:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon University women's volleyball team (3-14, 1-4) earned their first conference victory of the season over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (8-11, 1-4) today in Antelope Gymnasium in a four-set battle.

"I give credit to this entire group today—that was a team effort and a team win," said head coach Kris Naber. "We were faced with situations today that in previous matches, we weren't able to capitalize on and we proved to ourselves that we can battle out of those and come out on top. It's exciting to see this group as they mature and gain more experience along with confidence."

The Lopes won the opening set with a strong 25-19. The Vaqueros answered in the second set with a 25-17 win, before GCU closed out the next two sets 25-15, 25-23.

Freshman Melody Horton had a stellar game earning 17 kills, 11 digs, and four blocks. Sophomore Jordyn Sanchez was close behind with 15 kills and 12 digs, while sophomore Hannah Hicks earned 10 kills and three blocks of her own.

"Having three players finish with double digit kills is a huge step moving forward," continued Naber. "All three, Melody, Jordyn, and Hannah had solid offense games, seeing space and taking care of the ball."

Randahl Powers earned 47 assists and Emily Vitel was awarded four service aces for her efforts.

As a team, Grand Canyon had their strongest hitting percentage in the fourth set (.361). They outblocked the Vaqueros 13-8 and had a .261 hitting percentage during the match.

"We're going to enjoy the day off tomorrow and get back to work Monday preparing for UMKC and Chicago State," concluded Naber.

GCU will continue their conference season next week with a match against UMKC on Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. against Kansas City in Kansas City, Mo., before facing Chicago State at 11 a.m. in Chicago, Ill. Links to live stats, live video, and a full recap will be available at www.gculopes.com.