Sweep caps off homestand

Friday, March 22

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 P.M.

Grand Canyon

12-12, 2-6

Concordia Irvine

10-15, 1-7

Team	1	2	3	Final F
CUI	18	23	23	0
Grand Canyon	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Gillian Rea

3/22/2019 8:31:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Lopes come out of 7-match homestand at 5-2 after defeating Concordia-Irvine

By: Alex Nash

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team got back in the win column with authority on Friday night, defeating Concordia-Irvine in straight sets by scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-23.

After playing the second most sets in the nation (95) this season, a sweep at Antelope Gym was a welcome sight for GCU (12-12, 2-6).

The Lopes are getting hot at the right time, starting off the second half of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play with two wins.

"We are trying to peak in April," sophomore opposite David Kisiel said. "We are doing everything we can right now to be at our best when playoffs come, just working hard every day and seeing where that gets us."

Kisiel is certainly getting hot at the right time, averaging over 15 kills a match over the last 10. He led all players Friday night with 16 while adding an ace, four digs and three blocks.

Sophomore middle blocker Ian McLain stayed hot on defense with a match-high six blocks in addition to seven kills. Freshman outside hitter Christian Janke contributed in big ways with seven kills, an ace and four digs.

GCU hit at its second-best rate of the season with a .363 percentage. The efficiency can be attributed to freshman setter Tanner Petchul's 34 assists. Friday marked the fourth time in the past five matches that Petchul has recorded 30-plus assists.

In addition to hitting percentage, the Lopes led in kills (39), aces (four), blocks (eight) and assists (36). Concordia-Irvine (10-15, 1-7) had an edge in digs with 24.

The Lopes came out swinging to start the match and it showed in their .474 first set hitting percentage. A 5-1 GCU run was capped by a Kisiel kill and had the score reading 8-4. The Eagles secured the next point and a patten developed from there. For 14 straight points, a new server stepped to the line with each team answering each other's scores.

Concordia-Irvine broke the pattern when it scored two straight points to trail 15-13. The Lopes got back to how the match started and used runs to increase their lead. An error was followed by a Kisiel kill, a Petchul ace and a block via McLain/Janke to bring the score to 21-14. The Eagles cut into the lead late but Kisiel ended the set with an ace, giving GCU a 25-18 win and a 1-0 match lead.

The second set was instantly a different story. An Eagles ace tied the score at 7-7 and set a precedent going forward. The Eagles fought their way to their largest lead of the night at 12-9 but the Lopes responded with three straight points by way of an error and kills from Janke and Kisiel to tie the set again.

Back-and-forth play ensued but it was the visitors that kept an edge. With the score reading 20-18 in favor of the Eagles, Kisiel landed another kill to tighten the score. Soon after, Petchul served an ace to give GCU the lead and force Concordia-Irvine into a timeout. A Lopes error and an Eagles ace put Concordia-Irvine ahead 23-22. GCU head coach Matt Werle called a timeout and Kisiel came out determined to end things with two kills. An error put a bow on the set and GCU had a sweep in sight.

Just as it did one set earlier, the third-set score read 7-7 after an Eagles kill. This time, the Lopes broke it up. GCU used a Kisiel kill, an error and a big triple-block from McLain, Kisiel and senior outside hitter Will Schwob to pull away. GCU seemed to be on cruise control after that, using three- and four-point leads to do so.

Concordia-Irvine would not go down quietly. A 10-5 run put the Lopes sweep in jeopardy, trying the set at 23-23. In the Lopes' wins, they had found success in setting middles so that is exactly what they did again. Senior middle blocker Alex Shmelev got a big kill and strong defense forced an error, giving GCU its third sweep of the season.

For the first time in over a month, the Lopes will hit the road. GCU travels to Southern California to face UCLA and Pepperdine on Thursday and Saturday before returning home to close the regular season.