GCU sweeps UNC tourney

Saturday, August 31

Greeley, Colo.

9 a.m.

Grand Canyon

2-0

Rutgers

0-3

Grand Canyon

Rutgers

8/31/2019 11:40:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Lopes start season with 3 wins in Colorado

By: Sarah Woodward

GREELEY, Colo. – The Grand Canyon women's volleyball team closed out the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic on a high note with its third straight victory, as the Lopes downed the tournament host 3-1 on Saturday night to complete the weekend sweep.

GCU claimed the first set 25-23 before surrendering the second set in extra points 30-28. The Lopes battled back to also win the third and fourth sets in extra points, 28-26 and 27-25, respectively.

"I'm really proud of the way our team competed," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "Our offense continued to improve and our floor defenders were exceptional. It was a great team effort tonight."

For the third match in a row, junior transfer and outside hitter Yeny Murillo paced the Lopes offense with double-digit kill numbers to earn tournament MVP. Murillo tallied 16 kills while sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss added 11. Senior outside hitter Melody Horton and junior opposite Sarah Hagge had nine kills apiece.

GCU (3-0) and Northen Colorado (2-1) split the first two sets in even back-and-forth action before the Lopes took an early four-point lead in the third. The Bears used a 5-0 run to go ahead, 13-12, but the Lopes rallied and secured the comeback in extra points to lead the match, 2-1.

The Lopes took an early lead again in the fourth set, and despite Northern Colorado's efforts to close the gap, GCU came out on top in extras.

GCU continues its road work next weekend in Spokane, Washington, facing Ball State, tournament host Gonzaga and Montana.

Lopes down Rutgers for win No. 2

In its second straight five-set battle, GCU prevailed again Saturday morning against Rutgers. The Lopes claimed the first set 25-19 before dropping the next two sets, 25-16 and 25-23. GCU came back to claim the fourth and fifth sets, 25-16 and 15-9, for its second win of the tournament.

"Our defense kept us in the match until our offense could close it out," Nollan said. "We have had a little difficulty getting our hitters in rhythm, but it's opening weekend and that's to be expected.

"The great thing about this match was that we understood what we needed to do to win and were able to execute that in the fifth. Our team doesn't quit. We compete and, so far, that's gotten us by. We just need to keep executing better and better each match."

Lopes freshman setter Klaire Mitchell, who was named to the all-tournament team, came back with another great performance, tallying 44 assists, five block assists and a service ace in the victory. Horton and Murillo paced the GCU offense again with 13 kills apiece, while Hagge added 11.

The fourth and fifth sets proved to be the difference for the Lopes. With a 6-0 run to start the fourth, GCU led 14-6. Rutgers cut the lead to four, 16-12, but a strong offense kept GCU on top to tie the match, 2-2, and force a fifth set.

After an even start to the fifth, Rutgers went ahead 7-4 to force GCU to call a timeout. The break proved positive for the Lopes, as a 7-0 GCU run was the difference maker and put the Lopes on top for the remainder of the set.

GCU ended the match with a 4-2 run to claim the fifth set, 15-9.

"Rutgers was a tough team with some physical hitters," Lopes senior middle blocker Maria Adams said. "Our team did an excellent job of responding with energy and discipline. Each player on the GCU roster contributed to fight for this win.

"That's what we do best — we battle."

Junior libero Teagan DeFalco, who was named to the all-tournament team, and Horton led the Lopes in digs with 17 and 16, respectively.