GCU travels to USC

Saturday, February 8

Los Angeles, Calif.

8 p.m.

Grand Canyon

USC

Photo by: Mathew McGraw

2/7/2020 2:01:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Match Notes

Lopes head to Los Angeles for the first road MPSF game of 2020

By: Cassidy Mace


Grand Canyon Lopes (8-2, 1-0 MPSF)	at	USC Trojans (2-8, 0-1 MPSF)
Match Notes	Live Video Live Stats	Match Notes

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball plays its first road Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match of 2020 this Saturday at USC. The Lopes are coming off a big home win in their MPSF opener, having taken down No. 9 Stanford in three sets on Saturday. The win marked the first time in program history that the Lopes defeated the Cardinal, and extended GCU's current winning streak to seven.

The match will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Network.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

PUTTING UP STATS: The Lopes rank in the top 10 nationally in five categories. GCU ranks fourth in aces per set at 2.00 and sixth in assists per set (12.09), hitting percentage (.328), kills per set (13.06) and match W-L percentage (.800). Two Lopes rank in the top-10 in individual statistics: sophomore outside hitter Christian Janke ranks third in aces per set at .690 and sophomore setter Heath Hughes ranks fourth in assists per set at 10.39.
WINNING WERLE: Head coach Matt Werle became the winningest coach in program history on Jan. 17 with a win over Park. The fifth-year coach passed former head coach Jeremy Price, who previously held the record with 68 wins.
SETTING RECORDS: Junior middle blocker Ian McLain tied the GCU individual match record for hitting percentage on Jan. 18 in a win over UC San Diego. McLain hit .857 to help the Lopes to a 3-1 win over the Tritons.

SCOUTING

USC is currently in sixth place in MPSF play with a 2-8, 0-1 MPSF record. The Trojans opened their season with a win against Princeton at home, taking down the Tigers in five sets. USC then went on a six-match losing streak, including dropping their only MPSF match so far this season against Concordia. After a win against CSUN, the Trojans are now on a two-match losing streak after a loss to UC San Diego on Thursday.

Junior middle blocker/opposite Kyle Gear leads the Trojans with 81 kills on the season, averaging 3.00 per set with a .253 percentage.

GCU trails 3-4 in the series, falling last on April 13 in three sets.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU took down No. 9 Stanford at home in straight sets, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19.
The win marked the first time the Lopes have defeated Stanford in school history. It's GCU's first win against a ranked team this season and extended the Lopes' current win streak to seven.
Freshman outside hitter Camden Gianni led GCU against the Cardinal with 13 kills, three aces and seven digs.