GCU clinches WAC No. 2 seed

Saturday, November 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

23-5,13-3WAC

CSU Bakersfield

9-19,4-12WAC

CSU Bakersfield

Grand Canyon

11/16/2019 2:25:00 PM | Volleyball

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Conference runner-up caps regular season with 23rd win

By: Josh Hauser

Grand Canyon sent its five seniors off in style on Saturday, defeating CSU Bakersfield 3-1 to clinch a runner-up finish in WAC play and a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament. The Lopes ended the regular season with a 23-5 overall record and a 13-3 mark in WAC play.

"Senior Day is always an emotional day," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "It's fun to look back at this group and the standard they set here. It's nice to see them all have solid contributions today on the floor."

After a tightly contested opening set that the Lopes won 25-23, CSU Bakersfield wasted no time evening the match with a dominant 25-14 second-set win. GCU responded with lopsided 25-12 and 25-16 sets to extend the program's Division I record for wins in a season make the Lopes one of 16 teams in the nation with at least 23 victories.

"It was a really exciting day that we got to go out and solidify our bye in the tournament and honor the seniors with a win," said Lopes senior middle blocker Maria Adams, who played her 69th and final regular-season match.

In its final match at GCU Arena this season, the Lopes honored their five seniors: Melody Horton, Emma Ahern, Alyssa Chisholm, Maria Adams and Kayla Redfield. All five seniors saw action in the match and helped put a cap on the Lopes' most successful Division I regular season. Adams concluded the afternoon with a match-clinching service ace.

"Maria Adams serving the match-winning ace was just icing on the cake for us all," Nollan said. "This senior class has really done a great job contributing throughout their careers. Not only on the court but off the court as well. They helped us build a culture here, set a standard and set the expectations for what this program is going to be and where it is going to go. I'm really proud of the efforts they put forth today and also for the underclassmen who worked super hard to make sure our seniors got great opportunities."

Sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss and junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo led the Lopes with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Freshman middle blocker Hannah Eskes impressed with an efficient six kills on 11 attempts for .545 hitting. Lopes junior libero Teagan DeFalco had 25 digs while freshman setter Klaire Mitchell had 28 assists.

In the first set, the Lopes and Roadrunners were tied on 14 occasions with no side leading by more than four points. CSU Bakersfield used a late 3-0 run to take a 22-20 lead and force a GCU timeout. The Lopes turned the momentum by scoring five of the game's final six points and close out the set on a Horton kill.

CSU Bakersfield hit a scorching .563 to win the second set but the Lopes wrapped up the 2019 home slate on a strong note by winning the final two sets by a combined 50-28.

In the third, GCU used an early 7-0 run to take an 11-3 edge and not look back. CSUB scored the first two points of the fourth set before the Lopes scored eight of the next nine and went on to win 25-16.

GCU concluded the regular season by besting its previous top D-I season by two wins. The Lopes are still in the process of engineering one of the nation's best turnarounds, posting 12 more victories than last season. Only four other schools have also posted a 12-win improvement from last season.

The Lopes know their time slot but await their opponent for their first-ever WAC Tournament game. Earning the first-round bye, GCU will play in the semifinal round on Friday at 3:30 p.m. in Orem, Utah. The Lopes will face the winner of the opening-round matchup of the WAC's No. 3 and 6 seeds.