Lopes open road slate in Gamecock Challenge

GAMECOCK CHALLENGE \| MAR. 11-12 \| Wheeler Beach \| Columbia, S.C.
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SATURDAY, MAR. 11 \| 9:00 A.M. MST
JACKSONVILLE DOLPHINS		vs.		GRAND CANYON LOPES

SATURDAY, MAR. 11 \| 3:00 P.M. MST
GRAND CANYON LOPES		vs.		SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

SUNDAY, MAR. 12 \| 6:00 A.M. MST
GRAND CANYON LOPES		vs.		UAB BLAZERS

SUNDAY, MAR. 12 \| 8:00 A.M.
GRAND CANYON LOPES		vs.		MERCER BEARS

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The Grand Canyon beach volleyball team is preparing to face off against four other schools in the two-day Gamecock Challenge Tournament hosted by South Carolina beginning Saturday, March 11.

The Lopes will be joined by the Jacksonville Dolphins (0-4) , UAB Blazers (4-1), Mercer Bears (4-1) and the hosts, South Carolina Gamecocks (4-0). This is the team's first appearance in this tournament.

The team is hot off a 5-1 record after sweeping Texas A&M Kingsville on Wednesday following their opening weekend tournament at GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium. The Lopes rebounded quickly after their 4-1 loss at their fifth and final contest of the tournament against No. 5 Hawai'i. This was their first and only loss of the season so far.

The Lopes are looking to surpass their 11-1 record that kicked off their 2016 season, but this goal will not come easy as they meet other nationally ranked talent in the Gamecocks and those that have only suffered one loss.

The first match for the Lopes begins at 9 a.m. MST on Saturday.

MATCH POINTS

The Lopes finished opening weekend 4-1 for the second straight season, with wins over TCU, New Mexico, Colorado Mesa and Loyola Marymount.
Molly Turner and Tjasa Kotnik are perfect on the season, defeating No. 5 Hawai'is No.1 pairing off consecutive Turner points in the three set finish.
Their most recent 5-0 win over the Javelinas was their second of the season after taking down Colorado Mesa in a similar fashion.
The Lopes met the Gamecocks last season when they played host in Phoenix and defeated them 4-1.

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Players Mentioned

Tjasa Kotnik

Molly Turner

Grand Canyon University Athletics