Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, January 17
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
2-2,0-0MPSF
3
vs
0
Park
0-1
1st set1
2nd set2
3rd set3
FinalF
Park (AZ)
8
15
15
0
Grand Canyon
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Mathew McGraw
Werle makes history in home opener
1/17/2020 8:24:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Matt Werle becomes winningest coach in program history with win over Park
Grand Canyon head coach Matt Werle became the winningest coach in GCU men's volleyball history on Friday with a 3-0 win over Park. The Lopes (2-2) took down the Buccaneers (0-3) in front of 806 fans at Antelope Gymnasium, winning 25-8, 25-15, 25-15.
Werle earned his 69th career win, passing former GCU coaching victory leader Jeremy Price.
"It's definitely something to be proud of," Werle said. "But over the course of my career, I'm in my fifth season as head coach now, there have been so many contributors to this. To name guys from the past, it was nice to even have an alum here in Will Schwob, who was around for four years. He was one of my first guys to have for four years. You know, Jack Burton has been around for the extent of it all. So, it's fun to share this with them because it's a team thing as opposed to an individual honor.
"I'm definitely proud of it but this is something that is going to be built upon and it definitely goes to show the talent that we have in the gym, especially our young guys. There are definitely going to be more wins ahead, and they're program wins, not coach wins."
The team showed a group effort to secure the win, with sophomore middle blocker Kyle Thompson and senior outside hitter Jack Burton tallying eight kills each. Burton tacked on a service ace and two digs to his stat line, while Thompson secured a dig and a block. Sophomore setter Heath Hughes led the Lopes with 19 assists, also recording three kills and an ace.
"I think the best thing about tonight was our group effort," Werle said. "We've really been preaching so much about team and supporting one another. You know, having starters that are freshmen to starters that are in their last year of competition. We have a big age separation there and trying to get these guys to buy in to the team has been our major goal. We know we have a lot of talent in this program. It's just finding that cohesion on the court and playing together and supporting one another."
The Lopes finished the night with nine aces, which was GCU's most in a match since Jan. 5, 2019, vs. CSU Northridge. Sophomore opposite Hugo Fischer led the Lopes with four, a career high. Sophomore outside hitter Christian Janke, who ranks first in the nation for aces per set, added three to go with seven kills in two sets played.
"I hate to compare ourselves to another team," Werle said. "But something that we really took away from Hawaii was their constant service pressure. We've been kind of focused on finding that serve that we're going to be in the court a lot but still keeping pressure on our opponents and not making a ton of errors. So, we're preaching 80-90% from the service line with our jump servers in terms of aggression and tempo, then throwing in that 100% or 95% for that ace when you have a good rhythm. And I think they did a nice job with that tonight."
The Lopes finished the night with a season-best .522 hitting percentage, collecting 43 kills, 34 assists and 22 digs.
"It was definitely nice to be back on our home court," Werle said. "I think we had some struggles with nerves in Hawaii and just the incredible fan support was very uplifting for our guys. You could tell that they were excited to be back home and it looks like some of the mental sides of the game we were much better with tonight."
The match was the first official match against the first-year Park program, located in the Phoenix area in Gilbert.
"It's always fun to go up against a local opponent," Werle said. "Local opponents always want to take down the top dog, the one Division I program in the state. It was nice to put a little pressure on our guys and see if they could still perform. Obviously in the first set, they came out and really took care of business, so I'm proud of them for that."
The Lopes return to action on Saturday as they take on UC San Diego in GCU Arena, starting at 7 p.m.
Werle earned his 69th career win, passing former GCU coaching victory leader Jeremy Price.
"It's definitely something to be proud of," Werle said. "But over the course of my career, I'm in my fifth season as head coach now, there have been so many contributors to this. To name guys from the past, it was nice to even have an alum here in Will Schwob, who was around for four years. He was one of my first guys to have for four years. You know, Jack Burton has been around for the extent of it all. So, it's fun to share this with them because it's a team thing as opposed to an individual honor.
"I'm definitely proud of it but this is something that is going to be built upon and it definitely goes to show the talent that we have in the gym, especially our young guys. There are definitely going to be more wins ahead, and they're program wins, not coach wins."
The team showed a group effort to secure the win, with sophomore middle blocker Kyle Thompson and senior outside hitter Jack Burton tallying eight kills each. Burton tacked on a service ace and two digs to his stat line, while Thompson secured a dig and a block. Sophomore setter Heath Hughes led the Lopes with 19 assists, also recording three kills and an ace.
"I think the best thing about tonight was our group effort," Werle said. "We've really been preaching so much about team and supporting one another. You know, having starters that are freshmen to starters that are in their last year of competition. We have a big age separation there and trying to get these guys to buy in to the team has been our major goal. We know we have a lot of talent in this program. It's just finding that cohesion on the court and playing together and supporting one another."
The Lopes finished the night with nine aces, which was GCU's most in a match since Jan. 5, 2019, vs. CSU Northridge. Sophomore opposite Hugo Fischer led the Lopes with four, a career high. Sophomore outside hitter Christian Janke, who ranks first in the nation for aces per set, added three to go with seven kills in two sets played.
"I hate to compare ourselves to another team," Werle said. "But something that we really took away from Hawaii was their constant service pressure. We've been kind of focused on finding that serve that we're going to be in the court a lot but still keeping pressure on our opponents and not making a ton of errors. So, we're preaching 80-90% from the service line with our jump servers in terms of aggression and tempo, then throwing in that 100% or 95% for that ace when you have a good rhythm. And I think they did a nice job with that tonight."
The Lopes finished the night with a season-best .522 hitting percentage, collecting 43 kills, 34 assists and 22 digs.
"It was definitely nice to be back on our home court," Werle said. "I think we had some struggles with nerves in Hawaii and just the incredible fan support was very uplifting for our guys. You could tell that they were excited to be back home and it looks like some of the mental sides of the game we were much better with tonight."
The match was the first official match against the first-year Park program, located in the Phoenix area in Gilbert.
"It's always fun to go up against a local opponent," Werle said. "Local opponents always want to take down the top dog, the one Division I program in the state. It was nice to put a little pressure on our guys and see if they could still perform. Obviously in the first set, they came out and really took care of business, so I'm proud of them for that."
The Lopes return to action on Saturday as they take on UC San Diego in GCU Arena, starting at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
Park
GCU
Kills
20
43
Errors
13
7
Attempts
63
69
Hitting %
.111
.522
Points
23
54
Assists
20
34
Aces
0
9
Blocks
3
2
Game Leaders
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballHALF-COURTER! It had to be green in the Melo Saint Patrick’s Day jersey 🎯🔥
Tuesday, March 31
TWO grand slams. ONE game. #collegebaseball
Tuesday, March 31
GCU Baseball vs. San Diego State (Game 2) - Cameron, Sanko grand slams
Sunday, March 29
GCU Baseball vs. San Diego State (Game 1) - Highlights
Saturday, March 28