Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, January 13
University Park, Pa.
5 p.m.
Grand Canyon
2-1,0-0MPSF
0
at
3
Penn State
3-0,0-0EIVA
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 17 | 21 | 22 | 0 |
| Penn St. | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Photo by: Skyler Coblentz
No. 6 GCU falls at No. 4 Penn State
1/13/2022 7:34:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Gianni tallies 12 kills in Lopes' 3-set road loss
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Grand Canyon men's volleyball team fell to No. 4 Penn State in their first road match of the season.
GCU (2-1) hit just .215 against the Nittany Lions (3-0) while redshirt sophomore outside hitter Camden Gianni led the Lopes with 12 kills.
In the first set, the Lopes came out slow falling behind 7-2 but closed the gap to an 11-7 deficit off a Heath Hughes kill. That was as close as GCU came as Penn State emerged strongly and hit .579 with four service aces. In the set, opposite Hugo Fischer led the Lopes with three kills while libero Cole Udall added six digs as the Lopes dropped the set 25-17.
GCU gained its footing in an exciting second set that featured 14 ties and seven lead changes, but Penn State took the 2-0 lead with a 25-21 set win. Gianni came alive in the set with a perfect hitting, tallying six kills on six attempts.
Off a Gianni service ace, the Lopes held a late 19-18 lead after a back-and-forth battle to that point. Penn State then scored the next four point to regain the lead at 22-19 and held that advantage to the end of the set.
Down 2-0, the Lopes came out strong in the third set and held a 5-2 lead off a Karter Rogers kill. Middle blockers Jacob Guerber and Chibuike Obi made their season debuts in the set, finishing with a block each.
For the second set in a row, the match was tied late as GCU knotted up the score at 19-19 off a Gianni kill. Later in the set, Penn State held a 22-20 lead before GCU came within a point at 23-22 off a Fischer kill.
The Nittany Lions scored the final two points to won their ninth straight set to start the season, following two 3-0 wins over BYU last week.
GCU will now travel to head coach Matt Werle's alma mater, Juniata, for a Friday exhibition match at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time).
GCU (2-1) hit just .215 against the Nittany Lions (3-0) while redshirt sophomore outside hitter Camden Gianni led the Lopes with 12 kills.
In the first set, the Lopes came out slow falling behind 7-2 but closed the gap to an 11-7 deficit off a Heath Hughes kill. That was as close as GCU came as Penn State emerged strongly and hit .579 with four service aces. In the set, opposite Hugo Fischer led the Lopes with three kills while libero Cole Udall added six digs as the Lopes dropped the set 25-17.
GCU gained its footing in an exciting second set that featured 14 ties and seven lead changes, but Penn State took the 2-0 lead with a 25-21 set win. Gianni came alive in the set with a perfect hitting, tallying six kills on six attempts.
Off a Gianni service ace, the Lopes held a late 19-18 lead after a back-and-forth battle to that point. Penn State then scored the next four point to regain the lead at 22-19 and held that advantage to the end of the set.
Down 2-0, the Lopes came out strong in the third set and held a 5-2 lead off a Karter Rogers kill. Middle blockers Jacob Guerber and Chibuike Obi made their season debuts in the set, finishing with a block each.
For the second set in a row, the match was tied late as GCU knotted up the score at 19-19 off a Gianni kill. Later in the set, Penn State held a 22-20 lead before GCU came within a point at 23-22 off a Fischer kill.
The Nittany Lions scored the final two points to won their ninth straight set to start the season, following two 3-0 wins over BYU last week.
GCU will now travel to head coach Matt Werle's alma mater, Juniata, for a Friday exhibition match at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time).
Team Stats
GCU
PSU
Kills
33
39
Errors
16
8
Attempts
79
67
Hitting %
.215
.463
Points
44.5
50
Assists
33
38
Aces
6
4
Blocks
5.5
7
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
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/ Men's VolleyballSenior Reflections
Wednesday, April 15
Baptized at GCU
Tuesday, April 14
Singles off BOTH bags. ONE inning. 🤯 #baseball
Sunday, April 12
HOMER from the DRONE 🥎 #collegesoftball
Saturday, April 11