Home win streak extends to 17 matches

Thursday, October 21

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

13-4,5-3WAC

Sam Houston

11-7,4-2WAC

Sam Houston

Grand Canyon

10/21/2021 9:06:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU battles through tough 1st set, then dominates Sam Houston

By: Paul Coro

If you are looking for a place to leave happy, GCU Arena is as reliable as any following women's volleyball matches for the past two years.

The Lopes moved their home winning streak to 17 consecutive matches Thursday night, grabbing momentum with the type of long first set that home-court advantage flips. GCU turned dominant from there to notch a 31-29, 25-16, 25-16 victory against Sam Houston, which entered the night as the WAC Southwest Division co-leader.

After a massive, confidence-building win against New Mexico State at home Saturday night, the Lopes (13-4, 5-3 WAC) kept the GCU Arena magic going and stayed within a game of NMSU's WAC West Division lead.

It took navigating 20 ties and fighting off three set points in the opening set, but that gutty effort deflated Sam Houston (11-7, 4-2 WAC). GCU delivered eight service aces in the final two sets, including back-to-back aces by senior middle blocker Annabelle Kubinski to end the victory.

"It shows that we're continuing to improve as a team, continuing to connect and we're hitting our stride," said Kubinski, who was a freshman when the teams last met for a Sam Houston sweep in 2018.

In the three seasons since that previous meeting, GCU has gone 48-14 in the program's turnaround. That has come with program depth, which shined Thursday night. A balanced effort featured Kubinski (nine kills, five blocks), freshman outside hitter McKenzie Wise (12 kills, 12 digs, three blocks), junior middle blocker Hannah Eskes (seven kills, five blocks), junior setter Klaire Mitchell (38 assists, 15 digs) and graduate libero Teagan DeFalco (19 digs).

DeFalco entered the match ranked 25th nationally, but bumped her average to 5.05 set with Thursday's effort.

"We put the game together well in phases," GCU head coach Tim Nollan said. "We had a great blocking run. We had a great serving set. We defended well and made them scrap. Our opponents are figuring out that we just make you grind through it. We don't make it easy. We make it ugly. We make it a slugfest. That's the environment we thrive in. To beat us, especially on this floor, you're going to have to do that."

The Lopes trailed for most of the first set early until GCU surged ahead 19-17 with Wise putting down three kills and a block while Mitchell came up with a bench-thrilling block for the second straight match. The Lopes could not finish on its first two set points and then staved off three set points with two Bearkat service errors and sophomore outside hitter Ashley Lifgren's kill.

Mitchell's trickery with a set earned a kill and another set point, which Wise capitalized upon with her sixth kill of a 31-29 set win.

"That's a back-breaker," Nollan said. "As much as you try to tell your team, 'Don't worry, it was only two points,' you know in your mind that was all the momentum. Someone let all the air out of the balloon.

"I would've liked to close out that set earlier, but I also love to see the struggle because it shows character and builds character.

GCU rode that first-set roll into the second set, where it grabbed a 6-2 lead with sophomore outside hitter Georgia Turri's ace. After 20 Lopes kills in the first set, they came with the block party in the second set by knocking down seven. Four blocks were by Estes and the Lopes stayed in control until Wise gave GCU another set-clinching ace.

Sam Houston led 14-13 in the third set before a 12-2 Lopes close with Kubinski recording three kills, a block and two aces during the stretch. She truly was the "Belle of the Ball," as the sign read on a Princess Belle toddler dress that her mother hold up with Kubinski's name and number on the back.

"She would fit in really well with the Havocs," Kubinski said.

Her mother and the Havocs are part of a home atmosphere that ranked 18th nationally for attendance entering Thursday night.

"How can you not play well at home here?" Nollan said. "You've got, in my opinion, the best venue in the conference. We've got the best student section on the West Coast, for sure. I'll put our student section up against any in the country. You got the band rocking out every game. Our kids love playing for this University and they really do it for the students here and for the University."

GCU plays Stephen F. Austin (13-5, 4-2 WAC) at 11 a.m. Saturday in GCU Arena.