Lopes face Concordia in non-conference match

PHOENIX – The GCU men's volleyball team takes a break from MIVA action and travels to Irvine, Calif. for a match against the Concordia Eagles. Grand Canyon has an overall record of 9-6 after dropping two games to No. 6 Ohio State last weekend. The match will be played on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.

"We are looking forward to this non-conference match up with Concordia," head coach Matt Werle stated. "They are a well-coached team and we have always had long, back-and-forth matches in the past."

Last season, GCU split games with Concordia. The Lopes won the first match up at home 3-1 and then were defeated by the Eagles on their home court in five sets. The all-time series is split evenly at 3-3 and all matches between the two teams have gone longer than three sets.

Shawn Patchell leads the Eagles as only the second head coach in team history. He has been at the helm since 2013 and has helped guide his team to a 9-2 record this year. Most recently, the Eagles defeated Hope International in four sets, a team that GCU also beat in four sets earlier this season.

Against Ohio State, GCU was led offensively by Shalev Saada as the sophomore recorded 17 kills in Saturday's game after returning from an injury. Michael Milstein added 60 assists over the two matches as setter and Ashton King led the Lopes with nine total blocks for the weekend.

After the match on Thursday, the Lopes will break for the weekend before returning to MIVA play against Ball State on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5.

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Players Mentioned

Ashton King

Michael Milstein

Shalev Saada

Grand Canyon University Athletics