4th-ranked Waves defeat Lopes

Friday, March 29

Malibu, Calif.

7 P.M.

Grand Canyon

12-13, 2-7MPSF

Pepperdine

18-6, 7-3MPSF

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Grand Canyon	16	10	17	0
Pepperdine	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Katie Severns

3/29/2019 8:57:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Pepperdine uses season-high hitting percentage to sweep GCU

By: Alex Nash

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team fell in straight sets at No. 4 Pepperdine on Friday night by scores of 25-16, 25-10 and 25-17.

After spending the better part of March at home, the Lopes (12-13, 2-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) got back on the road under hostile conditions. The Waves (18-6, 7-3) not only lead the MPSF and carry a top-five ranking, they are undefeated at home.

GCU was up to the task and sophomore Ian McLain led the way. The middle blocker recorded seven kills, an assist, two blocks and two digs to go along with a .600 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Christian Janke led the Lopes with eight kills and added four digs while sophomore opposite David Kisiel was not far behind with five kills and two aces.

Pepperdine showed it deserved its rankingand kept the Lopes at bay. The Waves had the edge in kills, assists, aces and blocks. The main story of the night could be found in the hitting percentages. Last time these two sides met, it was GCU that held Pepperdine to a season low. This time, it was Pepperdine who flipped the script and hit a season high at .529 while holding the Lopes to their second-lowest mark at .042.

The first set saw the home team with an early advantage after an ace put the Waves up 6-2. The Lopes responded in a big way and Kisiel brought the score within one, still trailing 9-8. Not much later, Pepperdine served up an ace to keep the lead in reach for the Lopes. However, a 5-0 Waves run changed the narrative and increased the GCU deficit to seven. The Lopes showed late life when Janke landed a kill and Alex Shmelev followed with an ace to make the score 20-15. The two sides traded points one more time, but four straight Pepperdine points ended the set and gave the home team an early match lead.

Pepperdine stayed hot in the second set and jumped out to an 8-0 lead. The deficit would be too much for the Lopes to overcome despite lineup changes that featured Trevor Weary, Onur Cukur and Jack Burton. GCU started to gain traction late, answering five Pepperdine points with five of their own despite trailing 22-9. McLain got the Lopes their 10th point, but Pepperdine ended the set right after that and took a two-set lead.

For the first time in the match, the third set saw the Lopes with a lead thanks to kills from McLain and Janke. Pepperdine responded though and took the lead back thanks to a block and kill. From there, the Waves used a steady stream of consistent attacks and aces to distance themselves. The Lopes came within four after Janke landed a kill and Kisiel followed up with his second ace, but Pepperdine responded with three straight kills, increasing their lead to 20-13. Jack Burton served up a late ace and Janke landed another kill, but it would not be enough as the Waves closed the match out and remained undefeated at home.

The Lopes will look to bounce back on Sunday when they travel to Los Angeles for a tilt with No. 5 UCLA at 2 p.m.