Lopes sweep Patriots for perfect weekend

Sunday, January 7

Fairfax, Va.

11 A.M.

Grand Canyon

3-0 (0-0

George Mason

1-2 (0-0)

Team	1	2	3	Final F
GCU	25	25	25	3
George Mason	22	17	17	0

1/7/2018 1:34:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

3-0 sweep keeps GCU undefeated in 2018

By: Alex Nash

FAIRFAX, VA. – The No. 15 ranked GCU men's volleyball team earned their first sweep of 2018 defeating George Mason 3-0 on Sunday afternoon. The Lopes took the sets by scores of 25-22, 25-17 and 25-17. The sweep means GCU stays undefeated on the season, improving to 3-0 while George Mason drops to 1-2.

"That was an even bigger win for the program!" Stated head coach, Matt Werle. "We elevated our scouting report execution. There was a huge emphasis on communicating and bringing energy from start to finish."

GCU led across the board on Sunday, besting GMU in kills, blocks, assists and digs. The Lopes were led on offense by Will Schwob with 15 kills and a .480 hitting percentage. The senior had 25 attempts and only three errors. Cody Williams and Shalev Saada also had impressive offensive days with nine and seven kills respectively. Saada also assisted on defense adding five blocks, tying the team lead with Caleb Blazer. Meanwhile, Sky Engleman added a game best 12 digs while setter Puna Kaniho tallied 33 assists to go along with four blocks.

The match was all GCU from the start. The Lopes hit at a .380 percentage on the day while keeping their errors at 12. GMU committed 26 errors and was held to a .074 hitting percentage. The Lopes trailed in the first set but would go on to win and not trail the remainder of the match.

The Patriots looked to be in control early after a 4-0 run had the hosts up 8-5 forcing a GCU timeout. GMU kept momentum until a 4-0 run spurred by kills from Schwob and Saada put the Lopes in the driver's seat with a 16-15 lead. After some back and forth, GCU used a 5-0 run to increase the lead. Williams netted two kills to end the match 25-22 and take a 1-0 lead.

In set number two, GMU kept the score close at 7-6 as they tried to string a run together. However, four Patriot errors and kills from Kaniho, Saada and Scwhob gave the Lopes a decisive 16-10 lead. Saada added an ace and Ashton King had a timely kill before the Patriots tried to close the gap. Saada added another kill and ended the set 25-17 in favor of the Lopes.

The third set was more of the same for the Lopes seeing their lead at 11-7. GCU capitalized on 11 patriot errors and kept their errors to two in the set. GMU would also record a hitting percentage of .000 in the third which GCU would use to take the match 25-17, earning the sweep.

"The long road trip can lead to mental fatigue, but our guys brought it on a number of levels." Said Werle. "We still need to improve on certain facets of the game. Early in the season we focus on good errors versus bad errors; we have more good errors than bad and kept an offensive pressure throughout the match."

Looking ahead

GCU will return home for a week of practice before traveling to Nashville, Tennessee from Jan 12-15 for Off the Block's inaugural Grow the Game Challenge. The Lopes will look to carry momentum into matches against North Greenville, Limestone College and No. 5 Hawaii. Matches will take place on Friday at 2 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon. All times MST.