Completed Event: Volleyball at Fresno State on October 25, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0
Volleyball
at Fresno State
W 3-0
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, October 3
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
13-2
3
vs
0
Seattle U
9-8
1
2
3
F
Seattle U
22
22
19
0
Grand Canyon
25
25
25
3
Confidence brims for 13-2 Lopes
10/3/2019 8:50:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro
GCU sweeps Seattle to lead WAC with NMSU
The more that the Grand Canyon women's volleyball team keeps winning this season, the more that its confidence builds.
The more that the Lopes' confidence builds, the more apt they are to keep winning.
GCU won its fifth consecutive match Thursday night and stayed in a WAC first-place tie by downing Seattle U in straight sets in front of 1,477 GCU Arena fans.
The Lopes (13-2, 3-0 WAC) kept control beyond what the 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 final scores indicated. Once GCU took the first-set lead at 9-8, the Lopes never even trailed in a set until the final stanza that they dominated most with .459 hitting.
GCU is tied for the fifth-best winning percentage in the nation with a different team this season. The Lopes turned around a 1-11 all-time record against Seattle just before hoping to set a program attendance record Saturday, when it aims for its first-ever win against Utah Valley at 3 p.m.
"The winning has fueled the belief that they can beat anyone," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "There's never a team that they walk out on the floor and see and think, 'Oh, this is going to be an uphill battle.' We feel like we can create opportunities to beat anyone. We worked on that all spring and summer and the new kids brought new blood and life. They believe it. They've seen it happen so now they really believe it."
It happened from the outset against Seattle (9-7, 0-3) with GCU junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo getting half of her match-high 12 kills in the first set. She started as a front-row target and finished the set off with a kill from one of freshman setter Klaire Mitchell's 27 assists.
"I think my team is doing a really good job because everybody believes in the process," said Murillo, the hard-hitting Colombian who transferred from Arizona Western. "Everybody knows what they can do and we trust each other. That's the best part."
It was Lopes junior opposite Sarah Hagge who closed each of the final two sets on her way to 11 kills, her highest total in the 10 past matches. It was important with GCU missing injured attackers and to get Hagge back to the type of play that had her averaging 10 kills in the first five matches.
Hagge is part of a more balanced attack that had her and sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss hitting at better than .450 for the match.
The Lopes have lost one set in their past three matches and have recorded sweeps in five of their past 10 matches.
"Last year, it was hard for the kids (GCU students) to justify coming out because we weren't doing as well as we hoped," Hagge said. "But now that they're seeing that we're on a win streak, we're successful and we haven't lost in the building yet. It's going to be a good season for us and they should want to come out and watch us play."
GCU built into a dominating third set, when sophomore outside hitter K.J. Adams and sophomore middle blocker Annabelle Kubinski piled onto the attack with Hagge, Murillo and Moss as senior Kayla Redfield worked in at setter. Junior libero Teagan DeFalco added 12 digs as Seattle hit only .208.
"I was proud of our consistency for sure," Nollan said. "We didn't play fantastic. We have to get better on the offensive side of the ball. We were a half-step off on some of our execution stuff but I was pleased that we never felt like we were in real trouble or losing control of the match. The passers stepped up well. We just have to stay consistent and continue to improve."
GCU enters Saturday's match with Utah Valley in a WAC first-place tie with New Mexico State (12-3, 3-0). The Lopes are staging a 1:30 p.m. pregame tailgate party and giving out 1,500 free T-shirts before the 3 p.m. match with hopes of a record crowd.
"With us doing our part to be successful and showcasing how good we can be, I think the support is only going to swell and this is going to become the premier volleyball venue on the West Coast," Nollan said.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The more that the Lopes' confidence builds, the more apt they are to keep winning.
GCU won its fifth consecutive match Thursday night and stayed in a WAC first-place tie by downing Seattle U in straight sets in front of 1,477 GCU Arena fans.
The Lopes (13-2, 3-0 WAC) kept control beyond what the 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 final scores indicated. Once GCU took the first-set lead at 9-8, the Lopes never even trailed in a set until the final stanza that they dominated most with .459 hitting.
GCU is tied for the fifth-best winning percentage in the nation with a different team this season. The Lopes turned around a 1-11 all-time record against Seattle just before hoping to set a program attendance record Saturday, when it aims for its first-ever win against Utah Valley at 3 p.m.
"The winning has fueled the belief that they can beat anyone," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "There's never a team that they walk out on the floor and see and think, 'Oh, this is going to be an uphill battle.' We feel like we can create opportunities to beat anyone. We worked on that all spring and summer and the new kids brought new blood and life. They believe it. They've seen it happen so now they really believe it."
It happened from the outset against Seattle (9-7, 0-3) with GCU junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo getting half of her match-high 12 kills in the first set. She started as a front-row target and finished the set off with a kill from one of freshman setter Klaire Mitchell's 27 assists.
"I think my team is doing a really good job because everybody believes in the process," said Murillo, the hard-hitting Colombian who transferred from Arizona Western. "Everybody knows what they can do and we trust each other. That's the best part."
It was Lopes junior opposite Sarah Hagge who closed each of the final two sets on her way to 11 kills, her highest total in the 10 past matches. It was important with GCU missing injured attackers and to get Hagge back to the type of play that had her averaging 10 kills in the first five matches.
Hagge is part of a more balanced attack that had her and sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss hitting at better than .450 for the match.
The Lopes have lost one set in their past three matches and have recorded sweeps in five of their past 10 matches.
"Last year, it was hard for the kids (GCU students) to justify coming out because we weren't doing as well as we hoped," Hagge said. "But now that they're seeing that we're on a win streak, we're successful and we haven't lost in the building yet. It's going to be a good season for us and they should want to come out and watch us play."
GCU built into a dominating third set, when sophomore outside hitter K.J. Adams and sophomore middle blocker Annabelle Kubinski piled onto the attack with Hagge, Murillo and Moss as senior Kayla Redfield worked in at setter. Junior libero Teagan DeFalco added 12 digs as Seattle hit only .208.
"I was proud of our consistency for sure," Nollan said. "We didn't play fantastic. We have to get better on the offensive side of the ball. We were a half-step off on some of our execution stuff but I was pleased that we never felt like we were in real trouble or losing control of the match. The passers stepped up well. We just have to stay consistent and continue to improve."
GCU enters Saturday's match with Utah Valley in a WAC first-place tie with New Mexico State (12-3, 3-0). The Lopes are staging a 1:30 p.m. pregame tailgate party and giving out 1,500 free T-shirts before the 3 p.m. match with hopes of a record crowd.
"With us doing our part to be successful and showcasing how good we can be, I think the support is only going to swell and this is going to become the premier volleyball venue on the West Coast," Nollan said.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
SU
GCU
Kills
37
44
Errors
16
9
Attempts
101
116
Hitting %
.208
.302
Points
43
56
Assists
36
40
Aces
5
6
Blocks
1
6
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
L
/ VolleyballOPP
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
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