GCU returns to winning ways, defeats Princeton in four sets

Friday, March 24

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

15-9

Princeton

10-10

Princeton

Grand Canyon

GCU returns to winning ways, defeats Princeton in four sets

3/24/2017 9:26:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Samantha Fell

PHOENIX – After a tough five-set loss to the Princeton Tigers last night, the Lopes earned redemption on Friday evening. GCU topped the Tigers in four sets by scores of 25-15, 25-17, 22-25, and 25-22. With the win, Grand Canyon moves their record to 15-9 for the season.

"We had a much better performance tonight," GCU head coach Matt Werle said. "We keep preaching that we have to earn points and make our opponents earn them as well; we did that much better tonight by cutting our errors by almost 30."

By reducing their errors, the Lopes were dominant in Sets 1 and 2. GCU attacked over .500 in the first two sets and recorded 30 kills with only five errors in the process. Grand Canyon also limited the Princeton offense significantly better than the previous night. The Lopes tallied 22 digs and 10 blocks for the match compared to 13 digs and eight blocks for Princeton.

"Our serve reception looked familiar tonight," Werle added. "We're still not sure what happened last night because we saw the same serves. Our serve reception allowed us to hit above .400. We have raised our expectations as the season is nearing an end and our third set performance kept us from playing a 'complete' match which we will need to do next weekend at Loyola."

In the third set, GCU had a break in concentration and struggled with errors. The Lopes committed ten attacking errors in the set and allowed Princeton to get back into the match with a 25-22 set win.

Grand Canyon battled to an 18-all tie in Set 5 before returning to form. The trio of Cullen Mosher, Cody Williams and Drake Silbernagel recorded 12 of the 13 GCU kills in the set, and each had kills in the final few points to put the Lopes up for good. GCU won the set, and the match, by a score of 25-23.

For the match, Williams led GCU with 17 kills five blocks and one ace. Mosher was right behind with 16 kills and an ace and Silbernagel rounded out the attackers with 14 kills, four blocks, and an ace. Sky Engleman had a great defensive night, leading the Lopes with six digs. Setter Michael Milstein dished out 47 assists and added two blocks in the effort.

The Lopes will battle for home-court advantage in the MIVA playoffs next week as they travel to Chicago for two matchups with Loyola. GCU stands at 10-4 in the league while Loyola's conference mark is 7-4. GCU will play at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 31 and again on Saturday, April 1.