Weekend will wins tourney title

Saturday, September 14

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

8-1

San Diego State

6-2

San Diego St.

Grand Canyon

9/14/2019 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro

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Lopes dominate SDSU to win GCU Invitational

By: <a href="http://gculopes.com/index.aspx?path=coro">Paul Coro</a>

When San Diego State took a 3-2 lead in the first set Saturday night at GCU Arena, the Grand Canyon women's volleyball players easily could have been a little stunned.

These Lopes do not consider losing, let alone trailing or dropping a set. That early moment was the last time GCU trailed Saturday night, dominating the Aztecs 25-19, 25-19, 25-19 to capture the GCU Invitational title and continue the best start in the program's Division I history.

The Lopes jumped out to leads of 8-3, 9-3 and 9-4 in the three sets and never allowed San Diego State (6-3) to cut the margin to less than three thereafter in any of the sets. GCU (8-1) was determined to sweep its tournament and the title match, coming out hitting .406 in the opening set.

"They believe they can beat anybody," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "We believe we can create opportunities. We believe we can control matches and dictate how teams have to play against us. They truly believe it. It shows in how we play and how we practice."

GCU was able to stay in its system early with junior libero Teagan DeFalco hustling for eight digs in the first set, helping to lead to freshman setter Klaire Mitchell's 11 first-set assists. Mitchell recorded 11 assists in each set Saturday and averaged 9.5 assists per set to earn all-tournament honors while DeFalco was named All-Tournament Libero.

That duo put senior outside hitter Melody Horton in rhythm for six first-set kills. Horton, the tournament Most Valuable Player, already had her third double-digit kill match of the season by the time GCU led 15-10 in the second set and finished with 12 kills and five digs.

"I think we were on in all cylinders of the game," Horton said. "We wanted to come out and make a statement. This match for sure will let our opponents know we're a different team this year. We're here to win the WAC.

"This was one of our first games that every player and every part of the game contributed. We're all so comfortable with each other. We just want to play for each other. We do better when we have fun."

The Aztecs' best threat came in the second set after the Lopes took their largest lead at 22-12 on senior libero Emma Ahern's serve. SDSU rallied for seven consecutive points on strong hitting. After a time out, sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss and junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo hammered consecutive GCU kills and Horton closed out the set on an ace.

The Aztecs tried a larger lineup for the third set, when they recorded their first block of the match. But Moss added four more kills in the set and sophomore middle blocker Annabelle Kubinski tallied three kills and two block assists to help GCU keep control with its consistent hustle.

The Lopes led 21-13, reached championship point on a nasty Moss sideline kill into a defender's thigh and finished off the undefeated weekend on a SDSU missed serve.

"We're not afraid," DeFalco said. "We know, in the past, we've been an underdog. Now, we come in knowing we can beat those teams and we're not afraid. Those girls were huge compared to us but we're just like, 'Bring your best,' because we're going to give our best at all times."

The Lopes have set a goal to go undefeated this season at GCU Arena, where they averaged 875 fans for their first three home matches this season.

"I firmly believe we are building here one of the great volleyball events on the West Coast with the GCU student body and seeing how hard these kids are playing," Nollan said. "Our kids were amped to play at home and we look forward to playing at home next week (for the Grand Canyon Classic)."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.