Lopes Pick Up a Pair of 4-1 Wins Over Lobos

Saturday, March 21

Albuquerque, NM

9 a.m.

Grand Canyon

New Mexico

Kaitlynn Ausmus

Photo by: Darryl Webb

3/21/2015 5:42:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

The Grand Canyon University sand volleyball team (4-2) topped New Mexico (1-3) in two 4-1 matches today at the StoneFace Courts in Albuquerque, N.M.

Three out of four of the Lopes wins in the first match were two-game matches.

Mackenzie Phelps and Shannon Dugan defeated Ashley Kelsey and Devanne Sours for their fifth win of the season. Alex Green and Brooke Razo earned a victory in the third slot 21-17, 21-17, while Alex Goodman and Becca Conrad defeated Maddie Mayfield and Sara Webber 21-13, 21-14.

Kaitlynn Ausmus and Megan Glennie extended their match to three games over Ashley Newman and Lise Rugland. They came up short in the opening set 22-20 before taking the second 22-20. They earned the victory 15-8 in the third to earn GCU's final point.

"We were struggling with the altitude at first—there was a lot of huffing and puffing," said head coach Jose Lugo. "I think it was a great showing by the team to stay calm and keep focus in order to go and execute their skills."

The second match Grand Canyon also earned the victory 4-1. All four wins were earned in two-games.

"The main goal in going from the morning to the afternoon was to find ways to be even more aggressive," Lugo explained. "We were serving tougher later than in the morning, and kept thinking of ways to score in transition. The other focus was to stay disciplined in terms of forgetting about the previous outcomes and treating it like a whole new match. It's important to not let up and we need to keep striving to be a little better every opportunity we have."

Chloe Jenkins stepped in for her first match of the season, teaming up with Ausmus to face Newman and Rugland. They won their match 21-17, 21-19.

"I'm very proud of Chloe and Kaitlynn," Lugo said. "Chloe filled in for another teammate who is dealing with an illness. Those two played well, and kept the pressure on the entire match. It's great to see these kids simply have each other's backs. You can't ask for anything better than that."

"Brooke and Alex Green also played a fantastic match in the afternoon, clinching the win for the Lopes with a straight set 21-12, 21-19 win over Kelsey and Sours, who had played in the top pairing in the morning," explained Lugo. "Great poise from those two allowed them to keep the pressure on and score points."

Phelps and Dugan earned their sixth win while Goodman and Conrad also won their match to round out the Lopes' four points.

Molly Turner and Emilee Erichsen played a competitive three-set match in the afternoon, coming up just short of the victory with a final score of 21-23, 21-18, 17-15.

Next week, Grand Canyon will host four days of sand volleyball matches beginning with Boise State at 6 p.m. on March 25, followed by a match against Nebraska at 6 p.m. on March 26.

"We are really looking forward to hosting a week's worth of matches starting on Wednesday with Boise State," said Lugo. "Our pink event for breast cancer awareness will be Thursday against Nebraska."

On Friday, GCU will host a match against USC at 7:30 p.m., before closing out the week with their final match against New Mexico at 10 a.m. on March 28.

"We host USC on Friday in conjunction with the men's volleyball team, who plays earlier in the evening," Lugo explained. "We'll have food trucks out there and music playing, so it will be an awesome environment to play in. Lastly, we will honor our seniors on Saturday in our last home match of the season against New Mexico. It will be a great week for both us and for the fans."

Match 1
GCU 4, UNM 1
1. Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan (GCU) def. Ashley Kelsey/Devanne Sours (UNM) 21-11, 21-12
2. Eastyn Baleto/Julia Warren (UNM) def. Molly Turner/Emilee Erichsen (GCU) 21-18, 21-19
3. Alex Green/Brooke Razo (GCU) def. Hannah Johnson/Chloe Crappell (UNM 21-17, 21-17
4. Kaitlynn Ausmus/Megan Glennie (GCU) def. Ashley Newman/Lise Rugland (UNM) 20-22, 22-20, 15-8
5. Alex Goodman/Becca Conrad (GCU) def. Maddie Mayfield/Sara Weber (UNM) 21-13, 21-14

Match 2
GCU 4, UNM 1
1. Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan (GCU) def. Hannah Johnson/Chloe Crappell (UNM) 21-13, 21-9
2. Eastyn Baleto/Julia Warren (UNM) def. Molly Turner/Emilee Erichsen (GCU) 21-23, 21-18, 17-15
3. Alex Green/Brooke Razo (GCU) def. Ashley Kelsey/Devanne Sours (UNM) 21-12, 21-19
4. Kaitlynn Ausmus/Chloe Jenkins (GCU) def. Ashley Newman/Lise Rugland (UNM) 21-17, 21-19
5. Alex Goodman/Becca Conrad (GCU) def. Maddie Mayfield/Sami Reynolds (UNM) 21-16, 21-18