GCU defeats No. 8 Ball State in five sets

Saturday, March 5

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

10-8

#8 Ball State

14-4

BSU

GCU

3/5/2016 8:41:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Samantha Fell

PHOENIX – The GCU men's volleyball team notched a huge win on Saturday night as it defeated the No. 8 Ball State Cardinals in five sets. The Lopes utilized a great team performance to win by scores of 27-25, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25, and 15-13. Grand Canyon improves to 10-8 for the season and 3-5 in the MIVA.

After losing in five sets on Friday night, GCU rebounded to turn in a total team effort and win the extremely competitive match. The Lopes took the first two sets, dropped Sets 3 and 4, and then turned in an impressive fifth and final set to upset the Cardinals. The victory ends Ball State's 11-game winning streak.

"This was a great win for our team," head coach Matt Werle said. "Ball State is a very good team and is very well balanced."

Four different GCU hitters reached double-digit kills during the match. Shalev Saada had a game-high 18 kills to pace the Lopes. He also added six digs and five blocks in the effort. Tanner Maxwell stepped up to lead the team with 10 digs and three aces while also contributing 15 kills. Gerrard Lipscombe had another complete game as he added 15 kills and seven digs. Middle hitter Ashton King turned in the most efficient performance of the night as he recorded 10 kills on only 17 attempts.

As a team, GCU had 59 kills and 42 digs compared to Ball State's 56 kills and 43 digs. The Lopes recorded five aces and did not allow any aces defensively against the Cardinals. Grand Canyon hustled throughout the match and turned up the intensity on defense from the previous night.

"We played some very tough volleyball in sets 1, 2, and 5," Werle added. "I am very proud of our effort for most of the match, but we are still working on being tougher for longer periods of time."

Toughness was on full display for GCU during the fifth set. After suffering losses in the previous two sets, the Lopes battled for every point and had 10 kills with zero hitting errors during the set. On the final point of the game, King and setter Michael Milstein blocked a Ball State hitter to finish the match and earn a thunderous applause from the crowd.

GCU continues MIVA play next weekend as the team hosts McKendree at Antelope Gymnasium for two home games. The first match will be played on Friday, March 11 at 6 p.m. and the second will be on Saturday, March 12 at 6 p.m.