Lopes split Day 1 in Hilton Head

Saturday, February 29

Hilton Head, S.C.

6:30 a.m.

Grand Canyon

#3 Florida State

Photo by: Wes Wilson

2/29/2020 7:39:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

GCU fell to No. 3 FSU, then won 4-1 vs. Charleston

By: Sierra Smith

HILTON HEAD, S.C. — The No. 10 Grand Canyon beach volleyball team fell in a close match to No. 3 Florida State 4-1 before bouncing back to beat College of Charleston 4-1 later Saturday at the Hilton Head Invitational.

Lopes fall to No. 3 Florida State 4-1

The match began with the fourth and fifth pairs, where sophomore Madi Relaz and junior Taylor Jarzombek grabbed the Lopes' only win of the match on Court 5 in two sets (21-18, 21-18). GCU junior Natalie Honzovicova and sophomore Katie Hess fell 9-21, 11-21 on Court 4.

The Lopes' No. 1 pair of junior Bella Bauman and sophomore Teagan DeFalco lost 19-21, 17-21.

GCU trailed 2-1 and forced the Seminoles' second and third pairs to third sets. Lopes seniors Jessica Stansfield and Hannah Towne won the first set 21-18, then fell in the second set 22-20. They forced FSU to extra points in the third set but lost 16-14. Also for GCU, sophomore Anaya Evans and junior Katie Sarber lost the first set 13-21 but evened the match with a 26-24 win in second set. But another tight third set in extra points to went to the Seminoles, 17-15.

Lopes beat College of Charleston 4-1

Jarzombek and Relaz moved to 6-0 at No. 5 on the season but the match evened with Honzovicova and Hess losing 19-21, 21-14, 12-15.

The Lopes' third, fourth and fifth pairs swept the Cougars. DeFalco and Bauman won 21-19, 21-17, and Stansfield and Towne dominated 21-13, 21-12. Evans and Sarber had two strong performances, winning 21-14, 21-7.

Up next, the Lopes take on No. 4 Southern California and No. 17 South Carolina on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. (Phoenix times). Live stats will be available during both matches. See below:

Live stats vs. USC: http://ow.ly/8YGY50yzwjs
Live stats vs. South Carolina: http://ow.ly/Mp1j50yzwjr

For live match updates, follow the Lopes on Twitter and Instagram at @GCU_Beach.