Lopes claim 1st-ever win over Zags

Friday, September 6

Spokane, Wash.

10 a.m.

Grand Canyon

3-0

Ball State

2-0

Ball St.

Grand Canyon

9/6/2019 8:30:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GCU splits Day 1 action in Spokane

By: Sarah Woodward

SPOKANE, Wash. ⁠— The Grand Canyon women's volleyball team won three consecutive sets after falling in the first one to down tournament host Gonzaga 3-1 on Friday night at Charlotte Y. Martin Centre.

The win marks the first time in program history that GCU has defeated Gonzaga, which won the first three meetings. The Lopes (4-1) fell in the first set to the Bulldogs (3-1), 25-18, but came back to claim the next three, 25-17, 25-14 and 25-21.

"It was nice for us to get another road win," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "We started off slow, which I attribute to us still thinking about this morning. We shook the fog off in the second set and played a great third and fourth set.

"It was nice for our Northwest kids to get the win tonight against a quality Gonzaga team."

GCU sophomore middle blocker Kaira Moss was active at the net with one solo block and seven block assists, while junior outside hitter Yeny Murillo tallied 15 kills for her fifth straight double-digit game. Senior outside hitter Melody Horton added 13 to the Lopes' strong offensive effort, while Moss and junior opposite Sarah Hagge had seven apiece.

GCU struggled to get in rhythm in the first set, but came back dominant in the second and third sets, thanks to an active front row and solid effort at the net. The Lopes secured the four-set win despite Gonzaga's effort to fight back in the fourth, when the Bulldogs cut the lead to as few as three before GCU shut down the rally.

Lopes freshman Klaire Mitchell was strong in all facets with 35 assists, four kills and a service ace.

"It was exciting to get to play in front of my family and hometown," Mitchell said. "The environment and energy created by the team on and off the court helped us compete at a high level and play all out. It was fun to get another big win and progress our game."

The Lopes close out the Gonzaga Invitational at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) on Saturday against Montana.

Lopes fall in 5 to Cardinals

In its first match of the Gonzaga Invitational, GCU battled through five sets before losing to Ball State on Friday morning. GCU claimed the first set 25-16 and dropped the second set 25-19. The Lopes won the third set 25-14, but dropped the final two to the Cardinals, 36-34 and 15-12.

"Tough loss for us this morning," Nollan said. "Losing the fourth set 36-34 was tough on the momentum. I give Ball State a lot of credit as they continued to execute down the stretch.

"We need to let this one go and come back ready for another tough match tonight (against host Gonzaga)."

Mitchell tallied a season-high 56 assists, which ties for second all-time in GCU individual match-high numbers for the Division I era. Mitchell added a team-high seven block assists, just ahead of sophomore middle blockers Annabelle Kubinski (six) and Moss (five).

For the fourth time this season, Murillo led the Lopes in kills, as the outside hitter tallied 15 for the match. Hagge was right behind with 14, while Moss rounded out the Lopes in double digits with 12.

The Lopes were dominant over the Cardinals (2-2) right off the bat in the first and third sets, but couldn't erase the deficit in the second set. They fell again in the fourth set in extra points, sending them to a fifth set for the third time in four matches this season.

GCU trailed 7-4 early in the fifth and called a timeout to regroup. The Lopes pushed back but then fell back again at 13-7 before rallying to 14-12, when Ball State closed out the match on a Natalie Mitchem kill.