GCU gets 1st MPSF Championship win vs. USC

Thursday, April 22

Provo, Utah

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

9-10,8-10MPSF

USC

5-13,5-12MPSF

Southern California

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Mathew McGraw

4/22/2021 8:30:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Gianni shines with 24 kills in tournament quarterfinal victory

By: Jerob Moon

PROVO, Utah – The fourth-seeded Grand Canyon men's volleyball team defeated No. 5 seed USC in a four-set Thursday quarterfinal at BYU's Smith Fieldhouse for the program's first-ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship victory.

Recently named MPSF Freshman of the Year, outside hitter Camden Gianni led the Lopes with 24 kills, which tied his career high from when the Lopes played on the same court against BYU on Feb. 20. Gianni hit .697 with just one error while also recording four service aces. The Lopes hit .375, their highest clips since the current five-match win streak started on April 9 with a win over the same Trojans on the road.

With the 28-30, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 win, GCU advances to a Friday semifinal against top-seeded host BYU at 6 p.m. (Phoenix time).

"It goes without saying that Camden was very impressive tonight and he just showed he deserved the honor he was awarded this year," Lopes head coach Matt Werle said. "But again, as we talk, it is all about the team stuff. We've made some tremendous strides over the past few weeks and the leadership coming from the older guys has been unprecedented. To see what they've done controlling the locker room with pre-match speeches and post-match, there's a lot of conversation and problem-solving when things don't go our way. I've been very impressed with how this team is starting to perform."

The Lopes (9-10) came out a little shaky in the program's first MPSF postseason match, hitting just .312 in the first set as the Trojans (5-13) sneaked by with a 30-28 win. Gianni picked up the first of four service aces for an 8-5 GCU advantage and the Lopes held the lead at 16-13 before USC rattled off six straight points.

Trailing 22-19, the Lopes regrouped with a kill by opposite Hugo Fischer, who finished with his third straight double-digit kill performance, before the Trojans committed three straight service errors to tie the match up at 23. USC won seven of the set's final 12 points to take the set for a 1-0 match lead.

"That really still goes to show our youth," Werle said about the first-set loss. "We were starting with a double libero. We have a senior there, and our second middle is a senior, but then we have a bunch of sophomores and then a freshman. I think that is so promising for our future but there's going to be some jitters and some tension on the court on a stage like this."

The Lopes turned their hitting around in the second and third sets, hitting .500 in the 25-20, second-set win and .455 in a big 25-17 third set. After making six errors in the first set, GCU only made three combined errors in the next two sets.

Gianni also came alive in those sets, recording 13 of his 24 kills. He delivered five kills in the first six points for GCU in the second set while redshirt sophomore Heath Hughes also picked up 19 of his 44 assists in those two sets.

In the fourth set, the Lopes cooled off and were trailing 17-14 after USC's only service ace of the match. The Lopes battled back and the set see-sawed with ties at 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21. Three of the final four Lopes points came on kills from Fischer, redshirt sophomore Kyle Thompson and Gianni's match winner.

Liberos Avery Enriques, a junior, and Cole Udall, a sophomore, combined for 13 digs in the back line while sophomore outside hitter Christian Janke finished with 10 kills, five digs, two block assists and a pair of service aces.

"This win is instrumental for our program, just showing what the next few years are going to show and highlight nationally," Werle said. "I think we've started to get some respect across the country, and we have been pushing for that year after year. I think we're over that hump where people are recognizing the guys what we have in this program are some athletes and some volleyball players."