No. 7 Lopes fall in 3 sets at Stanford

Friday, March 19

Stanford, Calif.

8 p.m.

Grand Canyon

3-5, 3-5

Stanford

1-1, 1-7

Grand Canyon

Stanford

Photo by: Mathew McGraw

3/19/2021 9:53:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

GCU drops its first road match since February

By: Cassidy Mace

STANFORD, Calif. – Grand Canyon men's volleyball fell in straight sets to Stanford on the road Friday night. The No. 7 Lopes (3-5, 3-5 MPSF) dropped close 25-23, 25-22 and 25-22 sets to the Cardinal (1-7, 1-7 MPSF).

Freshman outside hitter Camden Gianni led the Lopes with 12 kills, three digs, two blocks and an ace. Sophomore outside Christian Janke recorded eight kills, five digs, four blocks and three assists in the match.

Gianni scored the Lopes' first two points, getting a kill followed by an ace to lead 2-1. A three-point run for GCU increased the lead to 5-2, but Stanford quickly responded to tie it at 6-6 with back-to-back kills. Gianni put up four more kills to give the Lopes a 12-9 advantage.

The Cardinal took four straight points to go ahead 13-12, leading to a back-and-forth set of points. An ace from junior opposite Hugo Fischer gave GCU a 15-14 heading into the media timeout. Stanford tied it at 16-16, but the Lopes pulled ahead 22-19 with a three-point run featuring another Gianni kill and blocks from and senior middle Ian McLain. Stanford finished with a five-point run to win the set 25-23 despite Gianni's eight kills and two apiece from Janke, Fischer and sophomore middle Kyle Thompson.

The Lopes trailed 6-3 in the second set but battled back to a 7-7 tie. Neither team led by more than two through the media timeout, where Stanford led 15-14. A Lopes three-point run retook the lead, thanks to kills from Janke and McLain. The Cardinal rallied ahead at 20-18 and closed out a 25-22 win. for a 2-0 match lead.

GCU opened the final set with a 5-3 lead. When Stanford tied it at 7-7, the Lopes responded with kills from Janke and Fischer. GCU pulled ahead 14-11 on an ace from McLain, but a 6-1 Cardinal run set the Lopes back 17-15. The set went back and forth within a point until Stanford pulled ahead at 24-21 with back-to-back points. Gianni got in one more kill before the Cardinal closed the set and the 3-0 match.

The Lopes take on Stanford again on Saturday at 6 p.m.