Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 18
Fort Wayne, Ind.
4 p.m.
Grand Canyon
at
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IPFW
GCU prepares for road test against IPFW
3/15/2016 12:44:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
PHOENIX – GCU's men's volleyball team travels to Indiana this weekend for two MIVA conference games against the IPFW Mastodons. The Lopes split matches with McKendree over the past weekend and remain in the middle of the conference standings with a 4-6 league record. Grand Canyon's overall record is 11-9.
"After coming off back-to-back splits at home, we really need to come away with two wins at IPFW," head coach Matt Werle stated. "On Saturday night (against McKendree), we played consistent and intelligent volleyball."
IPFW is led by first year head coach Ryan Perrotte, who was a former player and assistant coach for 12 seasons at the school. Perrotte has guided the Mastodons to a 7-12 overall record but they have struggled in league play and are at the bottom of the MIVA leaderboard with an 0-7 conference record.
During the 2015 season, the Lopes and the Mastodons split matches at Antelope Gym. GCU swept the visitors during the Friday night matchup but were overpowered in five sets on the following night. This year, IPFW is currently on a three-game winning streak after defeating the University of Charleston and picking up two more wins against a Puerto Rican team last weekend.
GCU has had moments of greatness this season. The team has upset two ranked schools this year, Lewis and Ball State, but has failed to sweep any MIVA team so far. Gerrard Lipscombe has been the catalyst behind many of Grand Canyon's wins. The senior leads the team with 214 kills this season for an average of 3.40 per set.
Ashton King has been a solid force in the middle all year. King has amassed 169 kills and leads the team with 82 total blocks. Outside hitter Shalev Saada paces the Lopes from behind the service line with 27 aces this season while also adding 169 kills. Defensively, libero Sky Engleman leads GCU with 141 total digs.
"If we can come into this weekend with the right mindset and play disciplined, I like our chances."
The Lopes will look to play great team volleyball and put together solid performances on both nights. Each game will begin at 4 p.m. The first contest will be played on Friday, March 18 and the second will take place on Saturday, March 19.
"After coming off back-to-back splits at home, we really need to come away with two wins at IPFW," head coach Matt Werle stated. "On Saturday night (against McKendree), we played consistent and intelligent volleyball."
IPFW is led by first year head coach Ryan Perrotte, who was a former player and assistant coach for 12 seasons at the school. Perrotte has guided the Mastodons to a 7-12 overall record but they have struggled in league play and are at the bottom of the MIVA leaderboard with an 0-7 conference record.
During the 2015 season, the Lopes and the Mastodons split matches at Antelope Gym. GCU swept the visitors during the Friday night matchup but were overpowered in five sets on the following night. This year, IPFW is currently on a three-game winning streak after defeating the University of Charleston and picking up two more wins against a Puerto Rican team last weekend.
GCU has had moments of greatness this season. The team has upset two ranked schools this year, Lewis and Ball State, but has failed to sweep any MIVA team so far. Gerrard Lipscombe has been the catalyst behind many of Grand Canyon's wins. The senior leads the team with 214 kills this season for an average of 3.40 per set.
Ashton King has been a solid force in the middle all year. King has amassed 169 kills and leads the team with 82 total blocks. Outside hitter Shalev Saada paces the Lopes from behind the service line with 27 aces this season while also adding 169 kills. Defensively, libero Sky Engleman leads GCU with 141 total digs.
"If we can come into this weekend with the right mindset and play disciplined, I like our chances."
The Lopes will look to play great team volleyball and put together solid performances on both nights. Each game will begin at 4 p.m. The first contest will be played on Friday, March 18 and the second will take place on Saturday, March 19.
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Players Mentioned
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