Lopes Open GCU Invitational Against UC Riverside

Friday, September 18

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-8

UC Riverside

5-6

UC Riverside

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Darryl Webb

9/18/2015 8:26:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon University women's volleyball team opened their second home tournament of the season against UC Riverside. They fell in a close 3-1 match-up with the Highlanders.

GCU led in the opening set by as many as seven points, but fell just short 25-23. During the set, GCU held a .243 hitting percentage compared to Riverside's .140. The second set was just as competitive with the Highlanders taking a 28-26 victory, before the Lopes came back in the third 25-20. In the final set, Riverside won 25-21.

"One positive thing to take from tonight was our middles," said head coach Kris Naber. "Something we worked on throughout the week was getting our middles more involved offensively. Hannah Hicks had 11 kills, one error, 25 attempts and hit .400, while Gracie Dimond was .462 with seven kills and one error. Seeing the offensive contribution that those two made tonight was a bright spot leading into tomorrow."

The Lopes were led by Natalie Tardy's 15 kills and Libero Haley Glass picked up 23 digs during the match. Michelle Steagall produced five service aces and had 39 assists.

"This is the second time this season that we played UC Riverside," said Naber. "The first time two weeks ago we were defeated by them 3-0 and seeing the strides that this group has made in the last two weeks is another positive light on where this group is going to go and what we're capable of."

As a team, GCU outblocked the Highlanders 14-10 and netted a total of 50 kills, 47 assists, and 70 digs.

"We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing and our idea is to build this program while developing a strong culture of competitive athletes and representing the university," explained Naber. "I feel like we have the group in place to do that and it is encouraging to see the strides that this group has made since we last saw UC Riverside and excited to get back in the gym tomorrow."

The Lopes will continue the competition in the GCU Invitational tomorrow, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. against Northern Arizona. Links to live stats, live video, and a full recap of the event will be available at www.gculopes.com.