MPSF Tournament begins in Irvine

Saturday, April 14

Irvine, Calif.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Concordia

4/13/2018 11:24:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Lopes travel to Irvine for quarterfinals matchup with Concordia

By: Alex Nash


#14 Grand Canyon Lopes (18-10, 4-8 MPSF)	AT	#13 Concordia Eagles (15-14, 5-7 (MPSF)
		Sat, April. 14 at 7 p.m. MST
Match Notes		Watch Live Stats

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon men's volleyball team will travel to Irvine, Calif. this weekend to face Concordia in their first ever MPSF Tournament match. GCU (18-10, 4-8) goes in to the quarterfinals matchup as the No. 5 seed with the Eagles (15-14, 5-7) as the No. 4.

The week leading up to the match has brought an abundance of good news for the Lopes. After beating USC for the fifth straight home win, Sky Engleman was honored for his 19 dig performance by being named MPSF Defensive Player of the week. A few days later, more conference honors came the Lopes way, beginning with Ashton King being named All-MPSF Second Team along with Cullen Mosher and Engleman earning Honorable Mention.

The Lopes look to carry momentum into the tournament, coming off a 3-1 win vs USC. Shalev Saada led the Lopes offense with 20 kills and a .424 hitting percentage while Engleman led the defense with his season and conference best 19 digs. Despite beating USC, the Lopes missed out on hosting the quarterfinals matchup after Concordia defeated the Trojans in the last regular season match.

The first round matchup looks to be even with both teams taking a game in the regular season series. Last time GCU traveled to Irvine, they took a three-set loss with two of the sets going into extra points. A month later, the Eagles traveled to Antelope Gym where the Lopes came out victorious, 3-1 in an impressive fashion. GCU and Concordia are new to the MPSF this year, so it is fitting they would be matched up in the first round.
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SCOUTING REPORT

Concordia (15-14) | (5-7) MPSF | Thursday, 7 p.m. (MST) | CU Arena
The Eagles, much like the Lopes, are riding a two match win streak. After sweeping UC-Santa Cruz on senior night, Concordia capped of their season and secured the No. 4 seed with a 3-1 win over USC. The offense is led by one of four All-MPSF selections, Second Team honoree, Raymond Barsemain and his 336 kills. Hunter Howell has paced the Eagles defense with 117 blocks, averaging 1.10 blocks per set while setter Chandler Gibb contributes on both sides with 1015 assists and 2.06 digs per set. This will be the 13^th overall meeting between the Lopes and the Eagles with GCU holding the 7-5 advantage.