Lopes to face 5 top-20 teams

Grand Canyon beach volleyball faces one of its toughest slates of the 2019 season this weekend at the FIU Surf & Turf Invitational. The No. 16 Lopes take on five top-20 opponents Friday and Saturday in South Beach, Fla., including No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 LSU, No. 8 Florida International, No. 15 Florida Atlantic and No. 20 TCU.

GCU is ranked No. 16 in week five of the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll, giving the Lopes their highest ranking since the preseason poll. The Lopes currently are 13-3 with three wins over ranked opponents this season, including a 4-1 win in their most recent match versus No. 14 Stanford.

The FIU Surf & Turf Invitational kicks off for GCU with a 5 a.m. (Phoenix time) match against No. 3 Florida State. The Seminoles are the highest-ranked team the Lopes will face and are 14-4 this season. Florida State leads the series against the Lopes 4-0, last facing off on March 31, 2018.

GCU continues the first-day action against the host school, No. 8 Florida International, at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time) FIU is 8-5 this season and is on a two-match win streak. The Panthers lead the series between the two teams, 5-0.

The Lopes wrap up the first day of competition against No. 20 TCU at 2 p.m. GCU already has defeated TCU once this season at the Horned Frogs Challenge on March 2. The Lopes earned a 3-2 victory over the Horned Frogs to improve to 3-0 in the series against TCU. The Horned Frogs are 10-10 this season with wins over No. 16 Georgia State and No. 17 Tulane.

GCU starts the second day with another top-ranked matchup against No. 4 LSU at 5 a.m. (Phoenix time) The Tigers are 13-4 after starting the season 4-0 over No. 6 Cal Poly, No. 3 Florida State, No. 18 Tulane and No. 9 South Carolina. LSU leads the series against the Lopes 3-1, with GCU's only win taking place March 8, 2015.

The Lopes close out the FIU Surf & Turf Invitational on Saturday against No. 15 Florida Atlantic at 7 a.m. (Phoenix time) FAU is 9-6 this season and won its last two matches at home against North Alabama and Tampa. The series between the Owls and Lopes is tied, 1-1, with FAU winning 3-2 in the last matchup in 2018.

For live match updates, follow the Lopes on Twitter and Instagram at @GCU_Beach.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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