GCU falls in straight sets

Thursday, February 15

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 P.M.

Grand Canyon

11-4, 1-2

BYU

9-4, 2-0

Team	1	2	3	Final F
BYU	25	25	25	3
Grand Canyon	17	20	17	0

2/15/2018 8:46:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Lopes drop back-to-back matches first time this season

By: Alex Nash

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon men's volleyball team fell for the second time in as many matches as No. 7 BYU earned the sweep on Thursday night in GCU Arena. Set scores were 17-25, 20-25 and 17-25. The Lopes move to 11-4 overall while the Cougars improve to 9-4.

Even though the Lopes dropped their second straight match, they also broke the attendance record for the second straight match. Last Saturday GCU set a new Antelope Gym attendance record but tonight, GCU Arena was the venue and the all-time attendance record was shattered. 3,314 fans were in attendance, beating the old record of 2,604 set last season.

On the scoresheet, the Cougars had the advantage in every category. BYU was held to a .258 hitting percentage but would hold GCU to a season low .000 mark. GCU hit at a .000 or lower percentage in all but one set with BYU's 11 blocks being a contributing factor.

The Lopes offense was led by Cody Williams who had eight kills and an ace. Jack Burton would play two sets and add five kills. Zachary Melcher had nine assists while adding three digs, splitting the team-high with Sky Engleman. Ashton King, Shalev Saada and Jerod Alleman each shared the blocks lead with two. Redshirt senior Cullen Mosher left the match early in the first set with a leg injury.

The match started with both teams capitalizing on errors and stood at a 7-7 tie. After that, BYU would use a 4-0 run to take the lead but the Lopes responded with their own 3-0 run capped by a King ace. With the set within one the Cougars would take six of the next seven points and built a lead that would ultimately win them the set, 17-25.

The second set was GCU's most productive of the night as kills by Alleman and Williams helped the home team to a 10-7 lead. BYU would respond with another big scoring run, this time securing five straight points to take the lead. The Lopes would go on to bring the match within one thanks to some key BYU errors late with the score reading 20-21. The Cougars would secure the next four points and take a 0-2 match lead.

The third set mirrored the first with the Cougars using multiple scoring runs to build a lead that GCU would not overcome. BYU took the set 17-25, handing the Lopes a straight set loss.

Looking ahead

GCU will welcome the Stanford Cardinal to Antelope Gym for the first time in program history on Saturday. Stanford brings a 2-10 record to Phoenix and the Lopes are looking to bounce back. The match is set to start at 4 p.m. (MST).