Lopes defeat ULM and Washington on Day 2 of Aloha Invite

Friday, April 22

Honolulu, Hawaii

12:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Louisiana Monroe

Lopes defeat ULM and Washington on Day 2 of Aloha Invite

4/22/2016 8:24:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

By: Imani Suber

HONOLULU, Hawaii - The GCU beach volleyball team finished an action packed day of competition on Day 2 of the Outrigger Resorts Aloha Invitational. The Lopes started play in the dual competition and went 2-1 on the day. GCU defeated Louisiana Monroe 4-1 in match one and fell to No.1 Southern California 5-0 in their second match of the day. The Lopes finished the day on a high note as they took out Washington, 4-1. GCU is now 17-7 on the year.

In the individual medal round final, pairings Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan and Molly Turner/Aleksandra Wachowicz both fell to USC in straight sets.

"I am really proud of our development over the course of the season and the name these girls are creating for GCU beach volleyball," head coach Kristen Rohr said. "We are competing with the top teams in the country which shows how hard the girls have worked. We still have a full day of tough competition tomorrow and we are looking to fight through the contenders bracket to get to the finals of the Aloha Invitational."

Match 1 - Louisiana Monroe
The Lopes started the day hot as they handled Louisiana Monroe 4-1, with four out of five flights claiming victories in two straight sets. On Court 3, Brooke Razo/Emilee Erichsen picked up the victory over ULM's Kaitlyn Shearer/Delaney Driver in a 21-10, 21-15 final. On Court 1, Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan took out Warhawks' Hope Pawlik/Taylor Zaeske 21-15, 21-12, while Aleksandra Wachowicz/Molly Turner handeled Hadley Swartz/Kori Simpson, 21-19, 21-9. Kami Dickerson/Jordyn Sanchez were GCU's only pairings to push a third set. Although they dropped the second set they took care of business and downed Tara Jenkins/Claire Crossfield in a 21-14, 18-21, 15-13 final outcome. Rebecca Conrad/Chloe Jenkins yielded the Lopes lone loss as they fell to ULM's Bayleigh Hoffman/Catherine Griffin in straight sets, 21-17, 21-16.

Match 2 - USC
GCU met No. 1 USC in the second round of the dual competition and battled valiantly, but couldn't overtake the Trojan's power offense and fell 5-0. While three flights fell in straight sets, two forced third sets and battled to the finish against top-ranked USC. Court's 2 and 4 pushed the Trojans to the brink as Wachowicz/Turner took the first set, but fell in the third in a close call with a 21-12, 22-24, 15-12 final. On Court 4, Dickerson/Sanchez also started off strong with a win in the first set, and battled to the end, but couldn't close the gap and fell in a 21-15, 15-21, 15-10 finish. On Court 1, Dugan/Phelps fell to Sarah Hughes/Kelly Claes, 21-16, 21-14, while Erichsen/Razo dropped their match to Trojan pairings Abril Escriu/Jenna Belton in a 21-12, 21-16 outcome on Court 3. Conrad/Jenkins also struggled and fell in straights to Zoe Nightingale/Josephine Kremer, 21-14, 21-8.

Match 3 - Washington
The Lopes bounced back with a strong finish in their final dual competition of the day with a 4-1 rout over Washington. In quick two set matches on Court's 1, 4 and 5 Dugan/Phelps took care of Washington's Cristian Jones/Tiata Scambray in a 21-14, 22-20 finish. Dickerson/Sanchez also snagged a win over Huskie duo Destiny Julye/Lindsay Chalmers 22-20, 21-13. But the victory wouldn't come easy for the Lopes as Wachowicz/Turner fell to Washington's Cassandra Strickland/Courtney Schwan after going back and forth over three straight sets, 17-21, 21-19, 15-11. On Court 3, Razo and Erichsen were also pushed to the brink in a neck-and-neck match as GCU's duo edged out Justice Magraw/Lianna Sybeldon, 19-21, 23-21, 15-10 in the final set.

Individual Medal Round Final
GCU's Dugan/Phelps and Wachowicz/Turner both fell to USC tandems in the pairs finals of the individual medal rounds. Dugan/Phelps dropped the match in straight sets to Sarah Hughes/Kelly Claes, 21-17, 21-11. Wachowicz/Turner failed to overcome the Trojan athleticism and fell to the duo 21-18, 21-3.

Up next: The Lopes return to action in Day 3 of the Aloha Invitational. GCU will meet Long Beach State in the duals competition as they seek to advance in the contenders bracket. Start time is set for 12:00 p.m. MST.

Day 2 Aloha Invitational Final Results
Team duals
GCU 4, Louisiana Monroe 1
Grand Canyon 1 (Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan) def. ULM 1 (Hope Pawlik/Taylor Zaeske), 21-15, 21-12.
Grand Canyon 2 (Aleksandra Wachowicz/Molly Turner) def ULM 2 (Hadley Swartz/Kori Simpson), 21-19, 21-9.
Grand Canyon 3 (Brooke Razo/Emilee Erichsen) def. ULM 3 (Kaitlyn Shearer/Delaney Driver), 21-10, 21-15.
Grand Canyon 4 (Lindsey Dickerson/Jordyn Sanchez) def. ULM 4 (Tara Jenkins/Claire Crossfield), 21-14, 18-21, 15-13.
ULM 5 (Bayleigh Hoffman/Catherine Griffin) def. Grand Canyon 5 (Rebecca Conrad/Chloe Jenkins), 21-17, 21-16.

GCU 0, USC 5
USC 1 (Sarah Hughes/Kelly Claes) def. Grand Canyon 1 (Shannon Dugan/Mackenzie Phelps), 21-16, 21-14.
USC 2 (Sophie Bukovec) def. Grand Canyon 2 (Aleksandra Wachowicz/Molly Turner), 21-12, 22-24, 15-12.
USC 3 (Nicolette Martin/Alexandra Wheeler) def. Grand Canyon 3 (Emilee Erichsen/Brooke Razo), 21-12, 21-16.
USC 4 (Abril Escriu/Jenna Belton) def. Grand Canyon 4 (Lindsey Dickerson/Jordyn Sanchez), 21-15, 15-21, 15-10.
USC 5 (Zoe Nightingale/Josephine Kremer) def. Grand Canyon 5 (Rebecca Conrad/Chloe Jenkins), 21-14, 21-8.

GCU 4, Washington 1
Grand Canyon 1 (Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan) def. Washington 1 (Cristian Jones/Tiata Scambray), 21-14, 22-20.
Washington 2 (Cassandra Strickland/Courtney Schwan) def. Grand Canyon 2 (Aleksandra Wachowicz/Molly Turner), 17-21, 21-19, 15-11.
Grand Canyon 3 (Brooke Razo/Emilee Erichsen) def. Washington 3 (Justice Magraw/Lianna Sybeldon), 19-21, 23-21, 15-10.
Grand Canyon 4 (Lindsey Dickerson/Jordyn Sanchez) def. Washington 4 (Destiny Julye/Lindsay Chalmers), 22-20, 21-13.
Grand Canyon 5 (Rebecca Conrad/Chloe Jenkins) def. Washington 5 (Jade Finau/Katy Beals).

Individual Medal Round Pairs finals
USC 1 (Sarah Hughes/Kelly Claes) def. Grand Canyon 1 (Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan), 21-17, 21-11.
USC 2 (Sophie Bukovec/Alexa Strange) def. Grand Canyon 2 (Aleksandra Wachowicz/Molly Turner), 21-18, 21-3.