Lopes off to 5-0 start after win

Saturday, January 13

Nashville, Tenn.

2 P.M.

Grand Canyon

5-0

Limestone College

0-4

Limestone

Grand Canyon

1/13/2018 4:38:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

No. 13 GCU swept Limestone College in the second day of weekend tournament.

By: Alex Nash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Grand Canyon University men's volleyball program tied the best start in program history on Saturday, moving to 5-0 after sweeping Limestone in the Grow the Game Challenge. The set scores were 25-11, 25-15 and 25-8. GCU stays undefeated with the win while Limestone drops to 0-4.

The win is GCU's third sweep in as many matches and moves the Lopes to 2-0 in the weekend tournament. Limestone trailed the No. 13 ranked Lopes in every category during the match. GCU recorded 30 kills and hit at a .400 mark, had six aces, 29 assists, nine blocks and 24 digs while holding the Saints to a -.176 hitting percentage. The match also saw GCU hit at a .619 mark during the first set.

GCU used a deep rotation for the second straight game as 15 different players' saw sets. Cullen Mosher led the Lopes in kills with six and hit at a .400 mark. Will Schwob, Shalev Saada, and Ashton King all had at least three kills while hitting .500 or better, Zachary Melcher had a perfect hitting percentage and four kills. Puna Kaniho recorded a team-high 13 assists in just one set. Jack Burton and Luke Turner each had two aces while Caleb Blazer led the Lopes on defense with five blocks. Freshman Avery Enriques played two sets at Libero and led the team in digs with five.

The first set started out close with the Saints coming within a point at 3-2. The Lopes would land nine of the next 10 points to increase the lead, 12-3. The Lopes would capitalize on a bevy of Saints errors before Cody Williams ended the set with a kill, 25-11.

The second set was the closest of the night as the Saints tied the set at 12-12 midway through. GCU would use a 4-0 run in part to Limestone errors and a block from Burton and Jerod Alleman to go up beofre back-to-back aces from Turner would put the set to bed. GCU led the match 2-0.

The third and final set was all GCU. The Lopes had two separate 6-0 runs and went up 15-5. From there, GCU recorded 10 of the next 13 points for their widest margin of victory in 2018, 25-8. The 5-0 start is tied for best in program history with the last five game winning streak to start a season coming in 2016.

Looking ahead

The Lopes will take on their first ranked opponent of the year when No. 4 Hawai'i faces GCU on Sunday. The two teams are the only AVCA top-15 squads in the tournament. GCU is 0-6 all-time against the Rainbow Warriors. The match had a time change due to inclement weather and will begin at 10:30 a.m. MST.