GCU drops first MIVA match

Friday, January 29

Romeoville, Ill.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-3, 0-1MIVA

#13 Lewis

6-3, 1-0MIVA

Grand Canyon

Lewis

1/29/2016 7:54:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Samantha Fell

ROMEOVILLE, IL – The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team suffered their first loss of MIVA conference play to the No. 13 Lewis University Flyers. The Lopes were defeated in three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-22, and 25-21. GCU falls to 5-3 on the season and Lewis improves to 6-3.

The matchup proved to be difficult for GCU as the Lopes struggled to generate momentum throughout the game. Lewis is nationally ranked and has never been defeated by the Lopes.

"We did not handle adversity very well," head coach Matt Werle stated. "We were not mentally ready to play tonight. We must be physically and mentally ready to compete tomorrow."

Middle hitter Christian Ward turned in the best performance of the night for the Lopes as he knocked down 8 kills on 13 attempts. Shalev Saada also had a solid outing with 6 kills and 4 aces from his outside hitter positon. Michael Milstein led GCU with 19 assists for the game.

The Lopes came close to stealing set two from the Flyers. After a kill from Saada, GCU was up 24-23. However, an illegal substitution was called and the score was reverted to give Lewis the advantage. The Flyers won the next two points to take the set.

GCU will face Lewis again on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. in Romeoville, Illinois. The Lopes will look to improve upon the first match.