Lopes upset Georgia State

Friday, March 30

Miami, Fla.

5:50 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Florida International

Photo by: Tech and Photo

3/31/2018 5:50:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

GCU goes 1-5 against six ranked opponents in Miami

By: Fletcher Like

MIAMI – Looking for its first win over ranked opponents in 2018, the Grand Canyon beach volleyball team (9-12) picked up its first win against a ranked opponent, upsetting No. 9 Georgia State on Saturday morning 3-2. The Lopes dropped the other five matches they played, all to ranked teams at the FIU Surf 'n' Turf Invitational.

The first morning of the weekend, GCU took on No. 12 Florida International, No. 18 Florida Atlantic and No. 8 South Carolina, with all three matches coming down just a handful of points. GCU came out on the wrong side of the score line in all three matches, falling 3-2 to all three opponents.

On the second morning of competition, the Lopes took on the second-ranked team in the country for the second time this season, competing against UCLA. The Lopes came up short, falling 5-0 to the Bruins.

In the second match of the day, the Lopes took on No. 9 Georgia State and took some frustration out, picking up the upset 3-2 over the team from Georgia.

The match started off a little slow for the Lopes as the No. 3 pairing of Bella Bauman and Jessica Stansfield fell in straight sets. Molly Turner and Hannah Towne evened the match in the number one slot in straight sets.

Tied at 2-2 in the final pairing, Katie Pyles and Taylor Jarzombek picked up a clutch two-set win over their competition to give the Lopes the upset, and the team's first win over a ranked opponent in 2018.

On the weekend, Hannah Towne and Molly Turner picked up four wins, falling to just UCLA and FIU. The pairing beat solid opponents against South Carolina and Florida State, as well as against Florida Atlantic and Georgia State.