GCU takes down UTRGV in opening round

Thursday, November 18

Las Cruces, N.M.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

18-6,9-5WAC

UTRGV

17-10,8-4WAC

Grand Canyon

UTRGV

Photo by: Zach Campbell

11/18/2021 3:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Lifgren's season-high 20 kills puts Lopes in semifinal vs. Sam Houston

By: Kellie Reynolds

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Grand Canyon women's volleyball team took down UT Rio Grande Valley in the first round of the WAC Tournament in four sets (27-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-23) at New Mexico State. GCU sophomore outside hitter Ashley Lifgren posted a career match with 20 kills and .429 hitting to put the Lopes in a Friday semifinal against top seed Sam Houston.

GCU (18-6) had two other players record double-digits kills in addition to Lifgren. Freshman outside hitter McKenzie Wise totaled 18 kills and junior middle blocker Annabelle Kubinski added her season high of 16 kills.

"I was really proud of our kids' effort today," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "We came out with a nice offensive match and offensive performance. (Junior setter) Klaire Mitchell did her things and really put our hitters in a good position. Ashley getting 20 kills, McKenzie getting another 18 and Annabelle piling on 16 from the middle was a really big deal.

"I felt like we could have defended and served a little bit crisper and cleaner and that certainly is going to be a point of emphasis tonight. We certainly are proud to advance and beat a quality club in UTRGV. (Vaqueros head coach) Todd Lowery always does a great job with his teams and they compete really hard. So we are happy to advance and rest up and talk about Sam Houston, which again is another really quality club. I expect tomorrow to be a very entertaining match."

Mitchell, the two-time WAC Setter of the Year, delivered 56 assists to tie her second-highest mark of her career.

In the first set, the Lopes got out to a 3-1 lead after a kill from Wise and an ace by graduate libero Teagan DeFalco. GCU extended its lead to 11-6 after Wise recorded the Lopes' second ace. The Vaqueros (17-10) went on a three-point run to take a 22-20 lead, but GCU rallied and took the lead back after kills from Lifgren and Kubinski forced extra points. Back-to-back kills from Kubinski and Wise gave the Lopes the first set.

GCU carried its momentum into the second set with an early three-point run to lead 4-2 after back-to-back kills from freshman pin hitter Sydney Reed and Lifgren, followed by a block from Wise. A Lopes five-point run extended their lead to 15-8 with three kills from Lifgren. The Lopes reached set point after a three-point run with a Wise kill, a combo block from Reed and Hannah Eskes and a Mitchell service ace. Mitchell found Wise to close out the second set and take a 2-0 lead.

In the third set, the Lopes and Vaqueros went back and forth. Trailing 11-10, the Lopes went on a three-point run that started by a kill from Eskes and followed by back-to-back blocks from Kubinski and Reed. With the Vaqueros at set point, Mitchell found Wise on the pin to cut UTRGV's lead to 24-22 but the Vaqueros scored the following point and forced a fourth set.

The final set was a battle that began with the Lopes scoring when Mitchell found Lifgren on the pin. UTRGV took the lead and kept the Lopes at a distance with a 16-11 lead before Mitchell found Wise to start a five-point run that tied the set. Lifgren and Kubinski hit consecutive kills to give the Lopes two match points, the second of which ended the match on Mitchell setting Wise for a kill from the outside.

The Lopes are back in action Friday against No. 1 seed Sam Houston at 4 p.m. (Phoenix time) in the Pan American Center. In the teams' only meeting this season on Oct. 21, GCU won 31-29, 25-16, 25-16 at home with Mitchell's 38-assist, 15-dig effort. Sam Houston (18-8) advanced Thursday with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 victory against No. 8 seed Abilene Christian.