Lopes travel to Penn State, Juniata

Thursday, January 13

University Park, Pa.

5 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Penn State

Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

1/12/2022 3:04:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

No. 6 GCU visits No. 4 Nittany Lions; Werle faces alma mater

By: Jerob Moon


No. 6 Grand Canyon Lopes (2-0)	vs	No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)	Juniata Eagles (0-0)
		Thursday/Saturday, Jan. 13/15 5 p.m. (Phoenix time)	Friday, Jan. 14 1 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Match notes		Game 1 Live video Game 2 Live video Live stats	Live stats

The sixth-ranked Grand Canyon men's volleyball team will hit the road for the first time this season for two matches at No. 4 Penn State and an exhibition at Juniata. GCU is coming off a season-opening sweep of No. 14 McKendree at GCU Arena.

Thursday's and Saturday's matches at Penn State will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus, where a subscription is required to watch. The least expensive option for fans to view the matches is to select the "School plan" for Penn State to watch Thursday and Saturday for a $10 monthly rate.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

MOVING UP: With the two wins over the Bearcats, the Lopes jumped three spots to No. 6 in the National Volleyball Assoication/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II Coaches Poll, which ties the highest mark in program history. GCU was last ranked No. 6 in March after the Lopes took down No. 1 BYU on Feb. 27.
STANDOUT DEBUT: Junior transfer Troy Culp made the most of his GCU debut over the weekend, starting both matches against McKendree at middle blocker. The Lake Elisnore, California, native recorded 11 kills on .526 hitting while adding a team-high eight blocks.
RETURNING HOME: GCU head coach Matt Werle will head to his home state of Pennsylvania for the first time at the helm of the Lopes' volleyball program. Werle will face his alma mater, Juniata, in an exhibition match on Friday. Werle was a three-time national champion and four-time All-American while with the Eagles from 2006-09.

SCOUTING

Penn State is coming off a sweep of No. 6 BYU last weekend, picking up a pair of 3-0 wins. The Nittany Lions moved to No. 4 in the national poll after hitting .384 with 17 services aces over the weekend.

Four Penn State players recorded double-digit kills against BYU while Preseason All-American setter Cole Bogner had 54 assists.

Juniata started the season with a 3-0 loss in an exhibition match at Saint Francis (Pa.). The match against GCU will be its first in Memorial Gymnasium, where the Eagles went 9-1 last season.

Against Saint Francis, the Eagles were limited to -.220 hitting while outside hitter Max Cooley led the team with six kills. Opposite Tyler Goldsborough was the top defensive performer, finishing with three blocks.