GCU faces UTRGV in WAC Tournament's 1st round

Thursday, November 18

Las Cruces, N.M.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

UTRGV

11/17/2021 9:25:00 AM | Volleyball

Thursday match in Las Cruces pits Lopes, Vaqueros for 1st time this season

By: Kellie Reynolds


Grand Canyon Lopes (17-6, 9-5 WAC)	vs.	UTRGV Vaqueros (17-9, 8-4 WAC)
		Thursday, Nov. 18 1 p.m.
GCU game notes		Live video Live stats

Grand Canyon begins the WAC Tournament against UT Rio Grande Valley at tournament host New Mexico State. The Vaqueros come into the tournament as the fourth overall seed after finishing second in the WAC Southwest Division. GCU and UTRGV have not met this season but the Lopes have gone 4-0 against the Vaqueros over the previous two seasons. The Lopes enter the tournament as the fifth overall seed after tying for second in the WAC West Division.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

THREE MAJOR AWARDS: The Lopes earned three of the four major WAC awards. For the second season in a row, junior setter Klaire Mitchell earned WAC Setter of the Year and a place on the All-WAC first team. In her final season on the hardwood, graduate Teagan DeFalco earned Libero of the Year and a place on the first team. Outside hitter McKenzie Wise was the Lopes go-to pin all season and it paid off, as she was named Freshman of the Year and selected to the All-WAC second team and WAC All-Freshman Team. Middle blocker Annabelle Kubinski earned a spot on the second team for the second time in her career.
NCAA RANKINGS: DeFalco ranks 19th in the nation and first in the WAC for digs per set at 5.21 and 63rd in service aces per set with 0.40. Mitchell ranks 49th in assists per set at 10.34. As a team, the Lopes are 24th in digs per set with 16.83. On the service line, GCU ranks 29th in the nation and first in the WAC with 1.79 service aces per set.
SINGLE ELIMINATION: The Lopes open the WAC Tournament with UTRGV, which it has not played this season. The WAC Tournament is a single-elimination tourney. The GCU-UTRGV winner will advance to a 4 p.m. Friday semifinal against the first-round match between No. 1 seed Sam Houston and No. 8 seed Abilene Christian.

SCOUTING

The Vaqueros are 17-9 overall and 8-4 in WAC play. UTRGV finished second in the WAC Southwest Division behind Sam Houston and above Stephen F. Austin. The Lopes and Vaqueros have not met this season, but the Lopes defeated Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin in interdivisional play at GCU.

UTRGV had two players earn WAC awards for their performances this season. Junior outside hitter Sarah Cruz was named to the first team and setter Luanna Emiliano picked up second-team and All-Freshman Team honors.

Cruz leads UTRGV in most offensive categories. She has a team high in points (468.5), points per set (5.04), kills (408) and kills per set (4.39). The Czech Republic native is second in the WAC for kills and third for kills per set. Cruz is also third for the Vaqueros in service aces (28) and tied for second for aces per set (.30). Emiliano is averaging 9.93 assists per set, which is second in the WAC to GCU's Klaire Mitchell. The freshman has a total of 993 assists on the season and leads the Vaqueros in aces with 36 and is third in the WAC for aces per set (.36).

Freshman libero Evana Ramos has anchored the Vaqueros' back line all season with a team-best 3.79 digs per set and 371 total digs. The Edinburg, Texas, native has a reception percentage of .948 with 516 attempts and only 27 errors. Luisa Silva Dos Santos throws up a huge block out of the middle blocker position, where she has recorded a team-best 95 blocks and is averaging .98 blocks per set. She is second in block solos with 15 and is third in kills (201) and kills per set (2.07).

Last time out, the Vaqueros took down Abilene Christian in three sets on Senior Night in Edinburg. UTRGV is on a three-match winning streak after defeating Lamar, Tarleton and Abilene Christian. In those three matches, the Vaqueros only dropped one set.

UTRGV dominated the Wildcats in the first and third sets of the match, but Abilene pushed extra points in the second set. Cruz had a match high of 14 kills for the Vaqueros and Emiliano notchesd a match-high 15 digs.