Lopes drop first match of 2018

Sunday, January 14

Nashville, Tenn.

10:30 A.M.

Grand Canyon

5-1

Hawaii

4-0

Grand Canyon

Hawaii

1/14/2018 4:12:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

No. 4 Hawai'i ends GCU's five game win streak

By: Alex Nash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Grand Canyon men's volleyball program dropped their first match of the season on Sunday, falling to No. 4 Hawai'i 0-3. Set scores were 20-25, 21-25 and 20-25. The loss moves GCU to 5-1 on the season while Hawai'i stays undefeated, 4-0.

The Lopes wrapped up Off the Block's inaugural Grow the Game Challenge with a 2-1 record, winning six sets and losing three. Ashton King was named to the All-Tournament team.

The Lopes were bested by the Rainbow Warriors in most categories but kept the match close throughout the morning. GCU had 36 kills on the day with 21 errors and had their worst hitting percentage of the year at .176. The Lopes also tallied seven blocks to go along with 23 digs while defense shined.

UH had 47 kills with 11 errors and a .409 hitting percentage. The Rainbow Warriors were led by Stijn van Tilburg who had 14 kills and a .407 hitting percentage.

GCU was led on offense by Shalev Saada who had 12 kills and one ace. Luke Turner (4) King (6) and Caleb Blazer (7) all had four or more kills while hitting above .500. On defense, Sky Engleman had six digs while Will Schwob had five. King also contributed four blocks.

All sets were highly competitive between the two ranked teams. From the first set, the match had the feel of a tough battle. During the first set, the teams went back and forth until the score was tied 7-7. UH would start to pull away, going up three but Schwob landed a kill, Cody Williams, Puna Kaniho and King would combine for a block and Saada served up an ace to tie the set again at 15-15. The Rainbow Warriors netted six of the next seven points to go up and force a GCU timeout. The Lopes would fight to comeback late but fell short and dropped the set 20-25.

The second set was as much as a battle as the first with the score showing 12-13 halfway through. UH pulled away going up 16-21 but GCU continued to fight. Saada had three late kills and brought the set within three late. However, two UH kills would put the set away and give No. 4 a 0-2 match lead.

The third set was the Lopes most impressive of the day, netting fifteen kills with a match low three kills and hit at a .462 mark. The match stayed within one up until UH led 16-17 behind some tough GCU defense. UH had a 3-0 run and Luke Turner landed back-to-back kills but the Rainbow Warriors would put the set away 20-25 and earn the sweep.

Looking ahead

The Lopes will have their 2018 home opener on Thursday, Jan. 18 when the New Jersey Institute of Technology comes to the valley. The Highlanders are 0-5 on the year and will be playing two games in Antelope Gym, taking on UC Irvine on Friday. The Thursday match is set to begin at 6 p.m. (MST) in Antelope Gym.