1st 4-set match brings win

Friday, January 25

San Marcos, Calif.

8 P.M.

Grand Canyon

6-3

St. Katherine

2-2

Grand Canyon

St. Katherine

1/25/2019 11:48:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Lopes defeat St. Katherine

By: Alex Nash

ESCONDIDO, Calif. – The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team kicked off its California road trip on a high note, defeating St. Katherine in four sets on Friday night. Set scores were 25-18, 25-20, 20-25 and 25-16.

The win marked the first time this season that GCU (6-3) played a four-set match. Coming off a weekend where the Lopes played 15 sets in three days, the shorter match was a welcome change,.

"St. Katherine had a couple of good athletes that gave us different looks," Lopes head coach Matt Werle said. "They made it difficult for us at times. We need to work on not letting off the gas when going up 2-0. They outworked us in the third set, but the guys showed resolve and responded. We need to get better at closing out matches."

After winning the first two sets, the match took on an eerie feeling after GCU dropped the third. However, the Lopes learned from last week and stopped the match from going the distance, earning an early win.

Lopes freshman outside hitter Christian Janke continued his run of double-digit kill performances, leading all players with 16 and added an ace and five digs for good measure. Senior opposite Will Schwob was right behind him, notching nine kills on a season-high .643 hitting percentage.

Freshman middle blocker Kyle Thompson earned the start in place of an injured Caleb Blazer and performed well. The Florida native had six kills on 10 attempts and added a dig. Sophomore middle blocker Ian McLain saw two sets of action and recorded a career-high four kills on a .429 hitting mark. Freshman libero Cole Udall led the Lopes defense with another double-digit dig performance, collecting 10.

GCU led in every statistical category, including outblocking its opposition for the ninth time in as many matches.

The Lopes continued their string of hot starts, hitting .421 in the first set and jumping out to a 7-3 lead. GCU would go up by as much as seven after a block from senior middle blocker Alex Shmelev and put the set on cruise control. Leading 24-16, the Firebirds (2-2) tried to stage a late comeback, scoring the next two points but an error would seal their fate and give the Lopes a 1-0 set lead in the match.

Just as it has been this season, GCU topped its first-half hitting performance by only committing two errors in the second set to solidify a .556 hitting mark. It was another early lead for the Lopes, scoring eight of the first 11 points, setting the tone. St. Katherine came within three at 17-14 but a Janke kill kicked off a 3-0 run that helped GCU widen its lead. Schwob landed two kills to end the set and gave the Lopes a shot at sweeping.

A sweep was in sight with the third set tied 19-19 but St. Katherine was determined to extend the match. The Firebirds earned five of the last six points to force GCU into one more set.

Instead of another long fifth set service run, it was GCU junior outside hitter Jack Burton who delivered in the fourth. Burton stepped up with the match tied at 13 and served two aces to go along with two Janke kills before Thompson joined in with a kill to build a 20-13 advantage. The Lopes used a 4-0 run, capped by an ace from sophomore setter Onur Cukur to earn their first four-set win of the season.

The Lopes continue their trend of back-to-back matches tomorrow, taking on UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif. First serve is set for 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) and will be aired on ESPN3.