Lopes win streak snapped by No. 2 UCLA

Saturday, February 10

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 P.M.

Grand Canyon

11-3, 1-1

UCLA

13-1, 2-0

Team	1	2	3	Final F
UCLA	25	25	25	3
Grand Canyon	19	18	18	0

Photo by: Gillian Rea

2/10/2018 8:29:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

GCU breaks Antelope Gym attendance record for second time but suffer a sweep

By: Alex Nash

PHOENIX – No. 10 Grand Canyon University men's volleyball program had their five game win streak come to an end on Saturday night when they were swept by No. 2 UCLA. Set scores were 19-25, 18-25 and 18-25. The loss puts GCU at 11-3 on the year and 1-1 in the MPSF while UCLA improves to 13-2, 2-0.

The bright spot on the night was the 1,524 fans packed into Antelope Gym, breaking the all-time attendance record for the second time this season. The Lopes battled but ultimately fell short for their first loss in over two weeks.

"UCLA is second ranked in the country for a reason." Said head coach Matt Werle after the match. "They have some very gifted athletes. The only way that we will be able to beat a team like that is if we can execute our scouting report. Our scouting report was next to perfect tonight and we just didn't make UCLA uncomfortable by any means."

The Bruins led in every aspect of the match. In two separate sets the visitors hit .500 or better while keeping GCU under the .300 mark all night. Overall, GCU hit at a .179 mark and recorded 27 kills, four blocks, 27 assists, 18 digs and did not land an ace. The Bruins posted a .494 hitting percentage and led the Lopes by at least five in every category except digs.

GCU's attack was led by Luke Turner and Cullen Mosher for the second consecutive match, each recoding team-leading seven kills. Zachary Melcher got the start on the night and went on to record 18 assists, three kills and led the team in digs with five. Ashton King continued to lead the Lopes on defense with three blocks, one of which came solo.

UCLA got out to a fast start in set one and would not yield. The Bruins led 3-7 thanks to five kills, an ace and a block. Lopes would come within two points a few times throughout but never caught momentum as the Bruins took the set 19-25.

The Lopes responded by coming out strong in the second set posting a 2-0 lead. From there, play would go back-and-forth until the score was tied at 9-9. UCLA would go on to score five of the next six points to re-take the lead and force a GCU timeout. The Lopes came out of the timeout with a Caleb Blazer kill and forced a Bruins error to bring the set to within two but it would not be enough as UCLA held the Lopes to just three more points and took the second.

The third set was the Bruins most efficient of the night as they attacked early and often to a tune of a .571 hitting percentage. The Lopes battled, hitting at their best mark for the night, .263, but came up short. The sweep was the first at home for GCU since Feb. 6, 2015.

"They went to what worked for them and what has been working for them, we just didn't put ourselves in positions to make them uncomfortable." Werle added. "We need to be smarter and work harder than teams like this in the future to give us a chance to win. We look forward to seeing them again."

Looking ahead

The Lopes will stay at home for another week as they welcome BYU and Stanford to town, continuing conference play. BYU comes in on Thursday, Feb. 15 with a No. 7 national ranking and will be the only team in 2018 to face the Lopes in GCU Arena instead of Antelope Gym. Following the ranked matchup, Stanford will face the Lopes on Saturday, Feb. 17 back in Antelope Gym. Both matches are set to begin at 6 p.m. (MST).