Lopes back home for pair

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team returns home this weekend for the first time in five matches. The Lopes will kick off the two-match homestand on Friday night against No. 4 UC Irvine before Charleston comes to Antelope Gym on Saturday.

GCU (6-4) is coming off a 1-1 weekend in San Diego, defeating St. Katherine in four sets before falling to UC San Diego in three.

No. 4 UC Irvine will be the Lopes' first ranked opponent since opening weekend, when they took on three top-15 teams in three days. Last season, GCU was ranked No. 12 when No. 6 UC Irvine came to the Valley. The two sides had a five-set battle in front of 1,379 fans with UCI coming out on top. Anteaters head coach David Kniffin enjoyed the challenging atmosphere last season and elected to play in Phoenix again instead of a home-and-home series with GCU.

Even though GCU fell out of the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, there are still positives heading into the weekend. Freshman outside hitter Christian Janke continues to lead the Lopes' offense, posting double-digit kills in every match this season. The Carlsbad, Calif., native was named one of Off the Block's National Outside Attacker of the Month finalists for January.

Defense is still the Lopes' bread and butter as middle blockers Caleb Blazer and Alex Shmelev continue to lead the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in blocks per set. As a team, GCU has been outblocked only once this season and its 2.76 blocks per set sits atop the MPSF. Freshman libero Cole Udall is top 10 in the conference in digs and has three double-digit dig performances this season.

The Lopes will end the two match homestand on Saturday when Charleston head coach Mike Iandolo returns to Antelope Gym, where he was a Lopes assistant coach last season. GCU then will head to California to open MPSF play against No. 15 USC and Concordia-Irvine next weekend.

SCOUTING

UC Irvine | Friday, Feb. 1., 6 p.m. | Antelope Gym

The Anteaters are ranked No. 4 in the nation and carry an 8-2 record. Their two losses came to ranked opponents, and six of the Eaters' 10 matches have been against top-15 teams. UCI has three players with over 100 kills this season and five players with 50 or more digs, providing a balanced game plan. Middle blocker Scott Stadick earned his second Big West Defensive Player of the Week award this season for his performance last week. The Lopes are 0-2 all-time against UCI.

Charleston | Saturday, Feb. 2., 6 p.m. | Antelope Gym

The Golden Eagles (3-4) are headed by former GCU assistant coach Mike Iandolo. Iandolo served on GCU's coaching staff last season before accepting the head coaching duties at Charleston. Three of Charleston's four losses have been to top-15 opponents. Maarten Bartles leads the team in kills with 74 and is fourth in the EIVA while Max Senica's 48 digs are good for second in the conference. Charleston will play three matches in Antelope Gym this weekend, facing UCI and Benedictine on Friday before taking on GCU the next day. This is the first-ever match between the Lopes and Golden Eagles.

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Players Mentioned

Caleb Blazer

Christian Janke

Alex Shmelev

Cole Udall

Grand Canyon University Athletics