Top-10 win puts Lopes on track

Friday, March 8

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 P.M.

Grand Canyon

8-11 (0-6)

Loyola Chicago

13-5 (6-1)

Loyola Chicago

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Katie Severns

3/8/2019 10:08:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

GCU holds one of nation’s top offenses at bay in 5-set victory

By: Alex Nash

A statement victory put the Grand Canyon men's volleyball team back in the win column on Friday night, when the Lopes came back to defeat No. 9 Loyola Chicago in five sets by scores of 25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 25-20 and 15-9.

GCU (8-11) used a balanced attack to defeat a ranked opponent for the second time this season with three Lopes posting double-digit kills. Sophomore middle blocker Ian McLain had a breakout game, tallying career highs for kills (10) and blocks (eight) on a .368 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Christian Janke led the team with 14 kills while sophomore Trevor Weary contributed 11 for his first double-digit performance this season. Freshman libero Cole Udall led all players with 15 digs while senior opposite Will Schwob added nine in addition to four blocks, three of which came in the pivotal fifth set.

The Lopes did what they have done best all season, dominating on defense. GCU used 12 blocks and 45 digs to keep one of the nation's most efficient offenses to a season-low .168 hitting percentage. Loyola Chicago had the edge in kills, aces, assists and digs but it was not enough in front of 1,000-plus fans in a packed Antelope Gym.

"With the home environment and the guys that we have on the court, we just believe in each other," McLain said. "It helps when you have this many people here supporting you. I think we played free, played our game and took care of what we needed to."

The Lopes have proven all year that they are comfortable in close matches. This was the seventh time GCU has gone five sets with wins in five of those matches. Keeping season trends alive, Friday's win marked the eighth time the Lopes have won a match when taking the first set.

Both teams came out swinging to start the match, battling to an 8-8 deadlock after a Rambler kill. GCU broke away thanks to back-to-back Janke kills and did not look back. A few points later, Weary gave the Lopes their largest lead of the night at 15-11 but the Ramblers responded with four of the next five points to bring it back within one. The momentum did not stay with the visitors as an error forced them into a late time out, down 19-16. The Lopes built off the mishap and secured the final five points off kills from McLain, Weary and senior middle blocker Alex Shmelev. GCU hit at a .393 clip and held Loyola Chicago to just .222 to take the first set.

The second set started like the first, with an 8-8 tie. However, it was the Ramblers who would break away and not look back, using a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead. The visitors got back to their efficient ways with a .300 hitting mark on the way to a 25-17 set win to even things up.

Set No. 3 held true to the match flow with both teams fighting to a tie. This time, a Shmelev kill had the score knotted at 14-14 before Loyola Chicago used aces and kills to secure five of the next six points for a 19-15 lead. Not long after, a Schwob kill had GCU within one but the Ramblers used another run to take back momentum and end the set 25-20.

For the second time in as many sets, GCU jumped out to a 3-0 lead after back-to-back Rambler errors. They responded with three straight points but Janke halted their efforts with an ace. Janke landed another kill later to give GCU a 13-8 advantage and their largest lead of the night. That lead would grow after Shmelev used a big solo block to put GCU ahead by six. Back-to-back aces helped power a 3-0 Ramblers run to bring the set within two but McLain landed his 10th kill to keep them at bay. McLain teamed up with Schwob and Weary for a triple-block to end the set and tie the match 2-2 behind a .348 hitting percentage.

It would come as no surprise that a 3-3 tie kicked off the fifth set. It was Schwob and Shmelev that would break the deadlock, each landing a kill and teaming up for a block to force a Rambler timeout. The Lopes then capitalized on a couple Rambler errors and Shmelev landed another kill to go up five. Loyola Chicago responded with a kill to cut GCU's lead to 11-7. Enter Janke. The freshman teamed with McLain and sophomore setter Tanner Petchul for a block and followed with two kills, sandwiched by a Rambler error to take the set and the match.

The win ended GCU's six-match losing streak and is its second top-15 victory of the season. The Lopes will take on the Ramblers again Saturday at 6 p.m. in Antelope Gym.