Mens Volleyball Tops Hope International in Season Opener

Friday, January 8

Fullerton, Calif.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0

Hope International

0-1

Grand Canyon (AZ)

Hope International

MVB

Mens Volleyball Tops Hope International in Season Opener

1/8/2016 8:23:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Samantha Fell

PHOENIX – The GCU men's volleyball team opened their 2016 campaign with a four set win over Hope International. Grand Canyon defeated the Royals 25-19, 25-22, 19-25, and 25-20. The Lopes move to 1-0 on the season and head coach Matt Werle earned his first win at the helm.

Werle was pleased with the final result but noted that the Lopes had room for improvement.

"The match was true to a season opener," Werle said after the win. "It was not the prettiest of wins, but we did what we needed to tonight."

GCU was led by outside hitter Shalev Saada. The sophomore recorded 19 kills on 33 attempts, had 3 blocks, and added 5 digs on the night. Senior Gerrard Lipscombe also had a big game for the Lopes with 11 kills and 5 digs. Setter Michael Milstein had 32 assists for the match.

On the defensive front, libero Sky Engleman led GCU with 21 digs. Ryan Mather had an impressive night in the backcourt and at the net with 16 digs and 9 kills.

Grand Canyon jumped out to an early lead in the first set behind strong hitting. GCU recorded over 14 kills in every set while Hope International never had over 13. In the fourth and final set, Grand Canyon only had one hitting error for an impressive .467 attack percentage. The Lopes grabbed an early 10-4 lead and never relinquished it to earn their first victory of the season.

Werle will continue to emphasize error-free play throughout the year.

"They exposed some of our weaknesses, which we were aware of, so we will continue to make them focuses in practice. We will need to play more disciplined in our next match."

GCU returns to action on Saturday, January 9 against UC San Diego. The game will be played in La Jolla, California at 8 p.m.