Lopes take No. 5 the distance, fall

Friday, February 15

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 P.M.

Grand Canyon

7-8, 0-3

Pepperdine

10-2, 3-0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
PEP	15	25	23	25	15	3
Grand Canyon	25	19	25	19	12	2

2/15/2019 10:07:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

GCU plays one of its season's most complete matches but Pepperdine prevails

By: Alex Nash

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team took the fifth-ranked Pepperdine Waves down to the wire but ultimately fell on Friday night in front of a packed Antelope Gym by scores of 25-15, 19-25, 25-23, 19-25 and 12-15.

Sophomore opposite David Kisiel led the Lopes to one of their most complete matches of the season. The Poland native tallied 28 kills, which ties the fifth-best match total in program history. As a team, GCU (7-8, 0-3 conference) hit .373 and tallied 58 kills while holding Pepperdine (10-2, 3-0) to a .203 hitting percentage.

For a second straight year, the two sides battled to five sets, but 10 Wave aces made sure the Lopes came out on the opposite side this year. Aside from the aces, the Lopes led in kills, assists, digs and blocks. After its blocking faltered the last four matches, the GCU defense returned to its roots and outblocked the Waves 13-4.

Multiple Lopes had standout performances to complement Kisiel's career night. Sophomore setter Onur Cukur recorded his first career double-double with a career highs of 52 assists and 13 digs. Senior middle blocker Alex Shmelev split the block lead with Kisiel, each recording six while freshman libero Cole Udall led all players with 13 digs.

The Lopes came out with the swagger they had been searching for all season. Strong defense and a kill from senior Will Schwob, who started at outside hitter, put the Lopes ahead 4-0 and forced Pepperdine into an early time out. From there, it was all GCU. Kisiel started making his mark on the match when he recorded his third kill to put GCU up 12-5. A short time later, GCU increased its lead to 10 behind back-to-back Kisiel kills. Pepperdine tried to salvage the set, but its serve went long and gave GCU a 1-0 match lead. The Lopes hit .450 in the set and held one of the MPSF's most efficient offenses to a -.214 mark.

The Waves proved why they boast a top-five program in the second set. After being tied at 5-5, Pepperdine used an 8-0 run to break the deadlock. The Lopes cut their deficit to five late in the set with a triple-block courtesy of Schwob, Cukur and sophomore middle blocker Ian McLain. Leading 24-19, the Waves landed a kill to tie the match and start the battle.

GCU freshman outside hitter Christian Janke got in on the action to start the third set, landing a kill to tie it at 5-5. Instead of another Pepperdine run, the two sides battled back and forth until the score read 14-14. Schwob proceeded to land a kill, giving the Lopes their first lead since 1-0 in the second set. The momentum stayed with the home side, and a Cukur/Shmelev block sent the crowd into a frenzy and Pepperdine to a time out. Pepperdine was strong on the serve all night but, just like the first set, they sent one long and GCU held a 2-1 match advantage.

The fourth set defined the match perfectly as both sides traded blows, recording six ties up to a 9-9 score. Pepperdine broke the deadlock and did not let up, determined to send the match to five sets. An ace gave the visitors their largest lead of the set, 20-15. The Lopes fought back but would fall after a Waves kill, despite hitting .417 in the set.

Kisiel was the offensive catalyst all night but his defense was on display after teaming up with Shmelev for a block to tie the fifth set at 4-4. Flashbacks of 2018 ensued with the Antelope Gym crowd of 1,011 fans getting loud and rowdy throughout the deciding set. Pepperdine made sure it left with a different fate, capitalizing on GCU service errors. The Waves gained a four-point lead and would not yield. The Lopes landed kills from Janke and Kisiel but could not put a run together, thanks to a visiting attack. Kisiel landed his 28^th kill, marking the most in a match by a Lope since 2015 but a service error followed to end the set and match.

GCU next plays at No. 9 Stanford in Palo Alto on Thursday before ending the trip at No. 8 BYU on Saturday.