Lifgren stands out in home opener

Monday, January 25

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0,1-0WAC

Tarleton

2-2,0-1WAC

Tarleton St.

Grand Canyon

1/25/2021 10:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU takes down Tarleton 3-0 in opening match

The Grand Canyon women's volleyball team returned to GCU Arena for the first time since Nov. 16 and prevailed in a season-opening sweep of new WAC opponent Tarleton.

The Lopes (1-0, 1-0 WAC) topped the Texans (1-2, 0-1 WAC) by scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 25-17.

"I was excited to get the first win under our belt," GCU head coach Tim Nollan said. "We have waited so long to have this opportunity to play. I want to give a quick shout out to all of our medical staff: athletic trainers, team doctors, athletic administration and our university president (Brian Mueller) for working so hard all year to give us this opportunity."

Lopes freshman outside hitter Ashley Lifgren had a stellar performance with 15 kills and 16 digs. Fellow outside hitter Yeny Murillo, a senior, added 15 kills while sophomore middle blocker Hannah Eskes totaled five kills and five solo blocks. GCU junior libero K.J. Adams totaled a game high of 21 digs for the Lopes. Sophomore setter Klaire Mitchell tallied 34 assists with 10 digs.

"I thought we did a lot of things right, particularly in the ball control department," Nollan said. "We passed over 56% for a perfect pass, which is one of our benchmarks and I thought we did really well from the service line."

GCU went on a six-point run in the middle of the first set to pull ahead 18-13 and sealed the set with a kill by Lifgren. The Lopes totaled a match high of 17 kills in the first set with .250 hitting.

The Lopes went into the second set with the same momentum and led 14-11. However, the Texans did not collapse just yet as they tied it up at 14-14 after multiple errors by the Lopes. Back-to-back kills by Lifgren and senior opposite Sarah Hagge put the Lopes back on top. One of Murillo's 15 kills gave the Lopes the second set.

In the final set, the Texans jumped out on top with a 13-11 lead. GCU responded with a 6-0 run to retake the lead. Lifgren closed out the match for the Lopes with a kill from Mitchell.

"Clearly, there are a lot of things to clean up especially some of our offensive connections, which I think we can do a lot better at," Nollan said. "Just getting that first match and those nerves out and see people start to settle in was important. Ashley Lifgren, in her first collegiate match, I thought she did a really nice job, and she can be a lot better. There were a lot of unforced and uncharacteristic mistakes that she made that she does not normally make, and she won't. She will continue to get better and develop. I thought K.J. Adams did an exceptional job at the libero spot, making some quality dig moves and served and passed really well."

The Lopes look to complete the series sweep when they return to GCU Arena to take on Tarleton on Tuesday at 3 p.m.