Completed Event: Volleyball at Fresno State on October 25, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0
Volleyball
at Fresno State
W 3-0
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, September 21
Phoenix, Ariz.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
10-2
3
vs
2
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Omaha
7-7
1
2
3
4
5
F
Omaha
20
26
25
25
9
2
Grand Canyon
25
24
13
27
15
3
Never-say-quit Lopes rally to win
9/21/2019 10:44:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro
GCU survives 3 match points, beats Omaha in 5 sets
If the Grand Canyon women's volleyball team ever needs another reason not to give up, it will be what happened Saturday night at GCU Arena.
Some of the season's bleakest moments were followed by the brightest one when GCU shook off three Omaha match points in the fourth set and won the Grand Canyon Classic finale in five sets.
Between the end of the fourth set and the start of the fifth set, the Lopes engineered a 16-3 run as part of a 25-20, 24-26, 13-25, 27-25, 15-9 victory in front of 711 fans at GCU Arena.
GCU (10-2) became one of the first 30 teams in the nation to reach 10 wins this season. The Lopes finished their nonconference slate as the winningest WAC team thus far because they showed the fortitude to shake off being dominated by Omaha (7-7) in the third set and trailing 24-20 in the fourth set.
"The biggest takeaway from this weekend is that this team fights and we compete." GCU head coach Tim Nollan said. "We will make you drive a stake through our heart to beat us because we will not give up. They just won't give up. Give them credit. It's really tough to beat a team that just will not quit. It's who we are. It's our identity and we're embracing it."
When Omaha led 24-20 with a 2-1 set lead, Lopes senior Melody Horton's kill provided a sideout and hope. Horton then served four consecutive points, including two aces.
GCU scored its final three points of the 27-25 set on kills by junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo, including the winning one off a bump assist from junior libero Teagan DeFalco.
Murillo added three more kills in the fifth set, including the match winner that gave her a season-high 19 kills for the night.
"Yeny Murillo had a great match," Nollan said of her 54-attack night. "She took a lot of swings for us. We're going to have to wrap her in ice for a couple days. But she's a competitor and she showed it."
GCU was serving in a 24-24 second set before it dropped that one to even the match and then dug a 10-1 hole in the second set. With a service game considered to be in the top 10 nationally, the Mavericks get more aggressive with leads and accentuate that strength.
The Lopes shook that set off to have the fourth set tied at every point but 12 from 1-1 to 16-16. Omaha then seized control to take a 24-20 lead, setting up the three match points that went awry for it.
"We hit a point on the bench where we were like, 'Let's just have fun and give it all we've got,' " said GCU sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss, who was named to the All-Grand Canyon Classic Team. "We honestly had nothing to lose. So we gave everything. I don't think anything is possible without God and I think that was something God wanted to happen."
GCU freshman middle blocker Hannah Eskes came off the bench to make an impact, pairing with junior opposite Sarah Hagge for important blocks in the fifth set. The momentum of the fourth-set finish carried over for a 9-3 Lopes lead in the fifth set.
"Hannah came in and gave us a different blocking presence," Nollan said. "She had fresher legs. On the bench, we kept telling her what we needed to take away. It helps her growth as a true freshman to come in off the bench and make a bigtime contribution at two different positions. She played on the right and in the middle. I'm really proud of her coming in and being able to execute."
DeFalco racked up 67 digs during the Grand Canyon Classic to win Outstanding Tournament Libero for the second consecutive weekend. GCU freshman setter Klaire Mitchell added 32 digs in addition to 105 assists on the tournament.
"It really helped us to grow as a team, being able to battle and come back," Mitchell said. "We really struggled in that (third) game and then battled point for point (in the fourth set). We had the crowd going with us and got all of our emotions back and got on a roll to finish it out.
"It'll help us grow and compete at a higher level."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Some of the season's bleakest moments were followed by the brightest one when GCU shook off three Omaha match points in the fourth set and won the Grand Canyon Classic finale in five sets.
Between the end of the fourth set and the start of the fifth set, the Lopes engineered a 16-3 run as part of a 25-20, 24-26, 13-25, 27-25, 15-9 victory in front of 711 fans at GCU Arena.
GCU (10-2) became one of the first 30 teams in the nation to reach 10 wins this season. The Lopes finished their nonconference slate as the winningest WAC team thus far because they showed the fortitude to shake off being dominated by Omaha (7-7) in the third set and trailing 24-20 in the fourth set.
"The biggest takeaway from this weekend is that this team fights and we compete." GCU head coach Tim Nollan said. "We will make you drive a stake through our heart to beat us because we will not give up. They just won't give up. Give them credit. It's really tough to beat a team that just will not quit. It's who we are. It's our identity and we're embracing it."
When Omaha led 24-20 with a 2-1 set lead, Lopes senior Melody Horton's kill provided a sideout and hope. Horton then served four consecutive points, including two aces.
GCU scored its final three points of the 27-25 set on kills by junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo, including the winning one off a bump assist from junior libero Teagan DeFalco.
Murillo added three more kills in the fifth set, including the match winner that gave her a season-high 19 kills for the night.
"Yeny Murillo had a great match," Nollan said of her 54-attack night. "She took a lot of swings for us. We're going to have to wrap her in ice for a couple days. But she's a competitor and she showed it."
GCU was serving in a 24-24 second set before it dropped that one to even the match and then dug a 10-1 hole in the second set. With a service game considered to be in the top 10 nationally, the Mavericks get more aggressive with leads and accentuate that strength.
The Lopes shook that set off to have the fourth set tied at every point but 12 from 1-1 to 16-16. Omaha then seized control to take a 24-20 lead, setting up the three match points that went awry for it.
"We hit a point on the bench where we were like, 'Let's just have fun and give it all we've got,' " said GCU sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss, who was named to the All-Grand Canyon Classic Team. "We honestly had nothing to lose. So we gave everything. I don't think anything is possible without God and I think that was something God wanted to happen."
GCU freshman middle blocker Hannah Eskes came off the bench to make an impact, pairing with junior opposite Sarah Hagge for important blocks in the fifth set. The momentum of the fourth-set finish carried over for a 9-3 Lopes lead in the fifth set.
"Hannah came in and gave us a different blocking presence," Nollan said. "She had fresher legs. On the bench, we kept telling her what we needed to take away. It helps her growth as a true freshman to come in off the bench and make a bigtime contribution at two different positions. She played on the right and in the middle. I'm really proud of her coming in and being able to execute."
DeFalco racked up 67 digs during the Grand Canyon Classic to win Outstanding Tournament Libero for the second consecutive weekend. GCU freshman setter Klaire Mitchell added 32 digs in addition to 105 assists on the tournament.
"It really helped us to grow as a team, being able to battle and come back," Mitchell said. "We really struggled in that (third) game and then battled point for point (in the fourth set). We had the crowd going with us and got all of our emotions back and got on a roll to finish it out.
"It'll help us grow and compete at a higher level."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
UNO
GCU
Kills
61
52
Errors
24
24
Attempts
171
164
Hitting %
.216
.171
Points
74
69
Assists
57
52
Aces
8
9
Blocks
5
8
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
L
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOPP
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
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