Lopes shut out HBU, SDCC

Saturday, March 7

Phoenix, Ariz.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Houston Baptist

Photo by: Mathew McGraw

3/7/2020 5:42:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

PHOTO GALLERY Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

GCU ends Canyon Classic with pair of 5-0 wins

By: Sierra Smith

The Grand Canyon beach volleyball team swept the final day of the Canyon Classic with 5-0 shutouts over Houston Baptist and San Diego City College on Saturday at GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium.

"It's always exciting to be at home and have our fans and just the atmosphere of GCU," Lopes head coach Kristen Rohr said. "Yesterday was a really good learning day for us. Across the board, I think we were a little bit off and Cal Poly played great. It was really important for us to bounce back today and take care of our side and trust the work that we've put in."

Lopes take down Houston Baptist 5-0

The match began with the second, fourth, and sixth pairs. Junior Taylor Jarzombek and sophomore Madi Relaz moved to GCU's fourth pair and won 21-11, 21-19. After falling in the first set, the senior pair on Court No. 2 of Hannah Towne and Jessica Stansfield came back and won the next two sets to put GCU up 2-0.

Junior Alyssa Vortouni and senior Micaela Mirabal fell in three sets to the Huskies in the exhibition match on Court No. 6 (21-14, 19-21, 10-15).

The Lopes' dual win was clinched on Court No. 3 with a 21-17, 21-19 win by sophomore Anaya Evans and junior Katie Sarber.

Freshman Alina Randall made her collegiate debut for GCU on Court No. 5, where Randall and sophomore Katie Hess won in three sets. The Lopes fell 17-21 in the first set, but then won 21-15 and 15-12.

GCU finished the dual on Court No. 1 with junior Bella Bauman and sophomore Teagan DeFalco winning 21-15, 29-27.

"I'm proud of the girls for how they came back today," Rohr said. "Alina stepped in for her first competition after playing in the 6s. For a freshman to come in and get that first win is really big and we're proud of what she did today."

Lopes shut out San Diego City College 5-0

The final match of the Canyon Classic between the Lopes and the Knights played all five courts at the same time. All five pairs for GCU won in two sets.

On Court No. 5, Hess and Randall won 21-8, 21-7. Evans and Sarber won 21-9, 21-11 on Court No. 4 for a 2-0 GCU lead.

Towne and Stansfield clinched the Lopes win after winning the first set 21-18 and dominanting the second set 21-2.

The final two wins were on the Court No. 4, where Jarzombek and Relaz beat won 21-11, 21-18. On Court No. 1, Bauman and DeFalco won 21-12, 21-19 to finish the sweep over San Diego City College.

"We're going to get back at it on Tuesday and prepare for next weekend," Rohr said. "Another home weekend that we hope to have a lot of fans out. We have another round of really good teams coming here so we have a lot of work to do but the girls are working hard and we're looking forward to it."

The Lopes are home again next weekend for the Desert Dual with visits from No. 8 Loyola Marymount, Texas A&M Kingsville and Ottawa.

For more on GCU beach volleyball, follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @GCU_Beach.