Lopes finish third in Aloha Invite, upset No. 6 Long Beach State

Saturday, April 23

Honolulu, Hawaii

12:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Long Beach State

Lopes finish third in Aloha Invite, upset No. 6 Long Beach State

4/23/2016 8:38:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

By: Imani Suber

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Grand Canyon beach volleyball team split the third and final day of the Outrigger Resorts Aloha Invitational. They upset No. 6 Long Beach State 4-1 to advance to the semifinal in the contenders bracket, but fell to No. 5 Hawaii 5-0. The Lopes finished third overall in the Aloha Invite with quality wins over powerhouses, Long Beach State and Washington. GCU improves to 18-8 and have concluded their regular season play.

"I am so proud of our team and the way we competed this weekend," head coach Kristen Rohr said. "Especially our win against the No. 6 team in the country. I knew this team had it in them and this was a great opportunity to prove the way we can play and the team that we are. It was fun being apart of the Aloha Invitational and competing at Queens Beach."

Match 1- Long Beach State
In their first dual match of the day, the Lopes upset No. 6 Long Beach State, 4-1 to advance to the semifinals of the contenders bracket. With all flights going to three sets, GCU played with confidence and grit and downed the Waves yielding just one loss.

On Court 1, Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan dropped the first set, but then regained control and took out Long Beach State's, Nele Barber/Rachel Nieto in a 18-21, 26-24,15-12 finish. On Court 2, Aleksandra Wachowicz/Molly Turner picked up a victory after coming back from a lopsided first set with a final outcome of 14-21, 21-7, 15-13 over Jenelle Hudson/Zoi Konstantopolou.

While GCU's 4 and 5 Pairings of Kami Dickerson/Jordyn Sanchez and Rebecca Conrad/Chloe Jenkins also dropped their first sets to the Waves, they bounced back with confident play and shut down Long Beach State's Mykah Wilson/Ciana Wagner and Ciana Wagner/Megan Kruidhof. Brooke Razo/Emilee Erichsen yielded GCU's lone loss on Court 3 after falling short in the final set with a 9-21, 22-20,11-15 final. With the win, the Lopes earned a spot in the semifinal round of the contenders bracket and played Hawaii.

Match 2 - Hawaii
The Lopes met No. 5 Hawaii in the semifinal. GCU who had played their fifth match in two days met a well-rested SandBows squad. They suffered the 5-0 loss in a quick match where all five of GCU's flights were ended in two straight sets. Phelps/Dugan fell to Katie Spieler/Emily Maglio in a 25-23, 21-12 finish. On Court 2, Turner/Wachowicz stood tough, but dropped the flight in a 21-16, 21-17 outcome to Hawaii's Ka'iwi Schucht/Nikki Taylor. On courts 3,4,5 Razo/Erichsen, Dickerson/Sanchez and Conrad/Jenkins were all defeated in straight sets as they couldn't overcome the Hawaii offensive pressure.

Outrigger Resorts Aloha Invitational Results
April 23, 2016
GCU 4, Long Beach State 1
Grand Canyon 1 (Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan) def. Long Beach State 1 (Nele Barber/Rachel Nieto), 18-21, 26-24, 15-12.
Grand Canyon 2 (Aleksandra Wachowicz/Molly Turner) def. Long Beach State 2 (Jenelle Hudson/Zoi Konstantopolou), 14-21, 21-7, 15-13.
Long Beach State 3 (Samantha Thomas/Kobi Pekich) def. Grand Canyon 3 (Brooke Razo/Emilee Erichsen), 21-9, 21-23, 15-11.
Grand Canyon 4 (Lindsey Dickerson/Jordyn Sanchez) def. Long Beach State 4 (Mykah Wilson/Ciana Wagner), 19-21, 21-18, 15-12.
Grand Canyon 5 (Rebecca Conrad/Chloe Jenkins) def. Long Beach State 5 (Ciana Wagner/Megan Kruidhof), 18-21, 21-16, 15-10.

GCU 0, Hawaii 5
Hawaii 1 (Katie Spieler/Emily Maglio) def. Grand Canyon 1 (Mackenzie Phelps/Shannon Dugan), 25-23, 21-12.
Hawaii 2 (Ka'iwi Schucht/Nikki Taylor) def. Grand Canyon 2 (Molly Turner/Aleksandra Wachowicz), 21-16, 21-17.
Hawaii 3 (Lara Schreiber/Hannah Zalopany) def. Grand Canyon 3 (Brooke Razo/Emilee Erichsen), 21-14, 21-14.
Hawaii 4 (Ginger Long/Mikayla Tucker) def. Grand Canyon 4 (Kami Dickerson/Jordyn Sanchez), 21-17, 21-12.
Hawaii 5 (Hannah Rooks/Ari Homayun) def. Grand Canyon 5 (Rebecca Conrad/Chloe Jenkins), 21-15, 21-12.