Grand Canyon Closes Out Competition in GCU Invitational

Sunday, September 20

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-9

Boise State

8-5

Boise State

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Darryl Webb

Grand Canyon Closes Out Competition in GCU Invitational

9/20/2015 4:32:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon University women's volleyball team (2-9) competed in a match against Boise State (8-5) to wrap-up the GCU invitational. They fell 3-0 during the match.

"Looking back over the last four weeks of preseason, there have been times where we have competed at a really high level and times that we've created our own chaos," said head coach Kris Naber. "It's no secret that being at home, having three matches and going 0-3 is disappointing and frustrating, but it was encouraging to see some of our players that stepped up this weekend and played pretty consistently."

Grand Canyon struggled in the opening set, 25-10, but made a strong comeback in the second set, falling just short 25-21. The Broncos returned full force in the third to defeat GCU 25-15.

Highlighting the Lopes performance again was Natalie Tardy who led with 13 kills and had a .205 hitting percentage. Her performance throughout the weekend earned her selection onto the GCU Invitational All-Tournament Team. Megan Byrnes and Emily Christensen each recorded four kills, while Byrnes also teamed up with Hannah Hicks for three blocks during the match.

Michelle Steagall earned 24 assists, taking her season total 319—an average of 7.98 per set.

"I think one of the areas that we'll focus on leading into conference is ball control," explained Naber. "We've got firepower and I feel like we've moved our game along as far as our defensive play at the net, but ball control needs to be better in order for us to play at a higher level more consistently."

"We know that scheduling a tough preseason has its challenges and we've leaped over some hurdles and seen in this group some of this area where we need to focus on," continued Naber. "Leading us into conference, we feel good about where the team is as far as having a week of practice and opening up conference this weekend at home against Bakersfield."

Grand Canyon will open their conference season this Saturday against Bakersfield at 1 p.m. in GCU Arena. For fans unable to attend, live stats, live video, and a full recap will be available at www.gculopes.com.

GCU Invitational All-Tournament Team
Helena Peric – UC Riverside
Jenson Barton – Northern Arizona
Janae Vander Ploeg – Northern Arizona
Sabryn Roberts – Boise State
Natalie Tardy – Grand Canyon