No. 14 GCU upsets No. 7 Lewis in five sets, advances to MIVA Playoff Finals

Wednesday, April 19

Romeoville, IL

5 PM

Grand Canyon

19-10

Lewis

23-7

Grand Canyon

Lewis

No. 14 GCU upsets No. 7 Lewis in five sets, advances to MIVA Playoff Finals

4/19/2017 7:23:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Samantha Fell

ROMEOVILLE, ILL. – Fifth time is the charm for the Grand Canyon men's volleyball team. For the fifth consecutive season, the Lopes traveled to face the Lewis Flyers in the MIVA Playoffs. For the first time, GCU emerged with the win. With the victory, the Lopes will play in the MIVA Playoff finals for the first time in program history. GCU improves their record to 19-10 and Lewis ends their season with a 23-7 record.

Both teams played with a bit of nerves at the beginning of the first set, as they combined for seven straight errors to open the contest. The teams kicked the nerves and play became reminiscent of how the series has been all season. With the score tied at 25, Lewis knocked down two straight kills to take the set by a 27-25 score.

GCU dominated the second set from start to finish. Matthew Kinnebrew opened Set 2 with two aces, and the Lopes later knocked down three straight kills to force Lewis into a timeout down 2-7. Grand Canyon extended its lead to 18-12 on a kill by Shalev Saada, and the outside hitter finished off the set with another two straight kills. The Lopes took the second set with a decisive 25-18 score.

In the third set, the Flyers earned a dominant win of their own. Saada began the set with a kill but GCU fell behind early and never regained the lead. Lewis recorded 12 kills in the set and earned a 25-18 win.

The momentum shifted again in Set 4, this time in favor of the Lopes. Cody Williams started things off with a kill and GCU continued to stretch their lead. The Lopes maintained a two-to-three point advantage before the attackers took over. Drake Silbernagel knocked down two huge kills during the stretch, including the final point, to finish the set 25-19.

In the decisive fifth set, Williams again opened things with a kill. Later in the set, Williams added an ace to put the Lopes up 13-10. Lewis then scored four straight points to earn the first match point of the night. Saada notched a huge kill to tie the match at 14, then Kinnebrew gave the Lopes match point with a kill of his own. On the final play of the game, Saada slammed a kill to give GCU the win.

Four GCU players reached double figures in kills. Kinnebrew led the Lopes with 14, Saada added 13 and Silbernagel and Williams each tallied 12. Setter Michael Milstein notched 50 assists during the match and Sky Engleman led the defense with 13 digs.

GCU advances to the MIVA Finals and will face the top seed Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. Live stats and video will be available.