Lopes back in win column against UCSD

Friday, January 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 P.M.

Grand Canyon

7-2

UCSD

5-2

UCSD

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Slaven Gujic

1/26/2018 9:29:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

No. 11 GCU defeats UCSD in front of home crowd

By: Alex Nash

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon University men's volleyball team got back to their winning ways on Friday night defeating UC San Diego 3-1. The match was decided by scores of 25-22, 22-25, 25-17 and 25-22. The win moves the No. 11 ranked Lopes to 7-2 on the year while the Tritons drop to 5-2.

"This was a good win for the program." Said head coach Matt Werle after the game "There was an odd tempo to this match with a lot of stoppages and our guys handled it well. Their play showed a great deal of maturity tonight. The home atmosphere was fantastic once again with our third consecutive crowd of more than 1,000. We can't thank our fans enough."

Even with the up and down tempo the Lopes stayed in control for most of the night. GCU netted more kills (61), digs (56) and assists (56) while UCSD led in aces and blocks by a margin of one a piece. As a whole, GCU hit .377 on the night including a .609 mark during the third set while holding UCSD to .250 for the match.

GCU used a balance attack to get back in the win column with four players recording double digit kills. Will Schwob had the first double-double of the year for the Lopes, recording 13 kills and 12 digs to go along with a .417 hitting percentage. Cullen Mosher came off the bench during the first set and recorded 12 kills while hitting .667. Rounding out the double digits, both Cody Williams and Ashton King recorded 11 kills.

Alex Shmelev came off the bench in the second set seeing action for the first time since his ankle injury during the first match of the season. The junior had an instant impact with eight kills and a .667 hitting percentage. Setter Puna Kaniho distributed the ball all over the court tonight on his way to a season-high 49 assists.

"We saw good things from our upper classmen tonight," commented Werle. "Will (Schwob) was great on both sides of the ball with 13 kills and 12 digs while Alex (Shmelev) and Cullen (Mosher) both gave us a spark off the bench."

The first set started off neck-and-neck until the match was tied at 13. The Lopes took control with a 5-0 run which included back-to-back aces from Shalev Saada and blocks from Williams and King. UCSD then used a 4-0 run of their own to get back within striking distance. GCU responded with a couple of kills and capitalized on some errors including a Triton blocking error that sealed the set 25-22.

Set number two had the same results but an inverse outcome. Neither team gave up much ground as the set saw a total of 10 ties but a kill by UCSD opposite hitter, Tanner Syftestad and a GCU attack error tied the match 1-1.

Sett three was all GCU and in commanding fashion. The Lopes jumped ahead early with a 10-5 lead and used precise hitting throughout the set to keep the lead. That lead would grow to as much as eight with the scoreboard reading 22-14. A kill from King would ice the set as the Lopes hit .609, their second best mark in a set this season (.750 in set two against North Greenville on Jan. 12).

The last set went back to the match roots with both teams keeping the game close. GCU used a 4-0 run to take a 13-10 lead and would not look back. The Tritons made a late run to bring the match within two but King earned kills on two of the last three plays and the Lopes earned the 3-1 win.

"We still have some work to do," said Werle. "We have to give props to their right side (Tanner Syftestad), he hit the ball well. Good right sides have hurt us all year and we have to figure out how to contain. We will learn from this and get better."

Looking ahead

The Lopes will face a first year program and in state foe in Ottawa (3-2) on Saturday, Jan. 26 at home. The Spirit will face UCSD in Antelope Gym at 2 p.m. before taking on the Lopes at 6 p.m. After the home stand GCU will hit the road four two games before MPSF play comes to Phoenix.