No. 15 GCU opens home season

Friday, January 11

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 P.M.

Grand Canyon

Benedictine

Photo by: Gillian Rea

1/10/2019 6:01:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Benedictine, Ottawa come to Antelope Gym on Friday, Saturday

By: Alex Nash

No. 15 Grand Canyon men's volleyball will open its 2019 home season this weekend against two in-state foes.

Benedictine and Ottawa come to Antelope Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The weekend will act as the season opener for both visiting schools while GCU is coming off a 1-2 opening weekend against three top-15 opponents. After two hard fought losses against No. 1 Long Beach State and No. 10 UC Santa Barbara, GCU was able to secure a key win over No. 11 Cal State Northridge in five sets.

Freshman outside hitter Christian Janke led the Lopes offense on the weekend, collecting 40 kills and six aces in his collegiate debut. Defense was a bright spot for GCU on opening weekend, outblocking every opponent. Middle blockers Caleb Blazer and Alex Shmelev spearheaded the efforts with nine and 10 blocks, respectively. Will Schwob got in on the action, recording a team-high three solo blocks.

Janke made his mark on the weekend with 18 kills against CSUN on Saturday, leading Mountain Pacific Sports Federation players on opening weekend. Nationally, the freshman is in the top 10 in multiple offensive categories, including kills per set (7), points per set (9) and attacks per set (9). His kills per set mark leads the conference. As a team, GCU's 2.09 blocks per set is eighth best in the country.

Despite the win over No. 11 CSUN, the Lopes dropped from No. 14 to No. 15 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll.

Scouting

Benedictine – The Redhawks enter 2019 with a No. 2 NAIA ranking following last year's season-ending loss in the NAIA championship. Most of the 2018 runner-up squad players are set to return this season. This will be the fourth time the two programs have met with GCU holding a 3-0 edge. The last meeting was GCU's 2018 senior night, when the Lopes came away with a 3-0 sweep.

Ottawa – The Spirit are coming off of their program's inaugural season in 2018, finishing with a respectable 15-10 record. After being a young team last season, most starters return, including their top opposite and libero. The two teams only met once last season with the Lopes coming out on top 3-0. However, the teams have strong ties as most of the Arizona natives have relationships from playing on local club teams.