Talent buries nerves in season-opening win

Friday, January 7

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0,0-0MPSF

McKendree

0-1,0-0MIVA

McKendree

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

1/7/2022 9:45:00 PM | Men's Volleyball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

No. 9 GCU drops 1st set but prevails in 4 against No. 14 McKendree

By: Paul Coro

When the Grand Canyon men's volleyball team opened its season with evident nerves Friday night, it was no indicator of experience, preparation or talent.

The ninth-ranked Lopes clearly possessed those things in defeating 14th-ranked McKendree. The nerves just showed how important it was to them to perform to the season expectations and for the 1,128 fans at GCU Arena.

The Lopes went from being unable to string together points for most of the first set to hitting on all cylinders in an error-less third set of a 21-25, 30-28, 25-19, 31-29 victory.

The teams play a Saturday night rematch at 7 in GCU Arena.

With career-high tying performances by redshirt juniors Christian Janke (21 kills) and Heath Hughes (53 assists), the Lopes staved off a McKendree set point that could have given the Illinois visitors a 2-0 match lead. Hughes made a clutch dig and Janke and redshirt junior outside hitter Camden Gianni delivered rockets from the back row to close out a 30-28 second set and even the match.

GCU rolled in the third set, when Janke drilled six of his kills as the Lopes hit .667 and won 25-19 before a tenser 31-29 final set.

Christian Janke

"It really shows our experience and mental strength that we were able to not worry so much about the last point and losing the set," said Janke, who matched his career kills high from 2019 by hitting .576. "We were able to come back, find a new gear and take the next one.

"Being calm in those moments is super-important. Everybody is going to figure that out and we're going to work as a team to figure that out. We calmed down and took what we practiced every single day and used that to beat them. Just focused on ourselves."

McKendree nearly forced a fifth set, but GCU fought off seven set points that began with a 24-21 hole. Hughes kept McKendree guessing by mixing up the attack points with Janke, Gianni and redshirt junior opposite Hugo Fischer.

Sophomore middle blocker Colin Lovejoy's kill from the middle gave the Lopes match point at 30-29, when Fischer's serve caused an errant bump that Janke killed to finish off a win that came with 10 available players because of health and safety protocols.

"We've talked a lot about pushing the tempo pin to pin," Werle said. "We think that's going to open up the middle of the court for us a lot. What we're doing out of the bic (back-row hitter) is really impressive. The fact that we're able to push to Hugo and push to Christian fast really opens the bic for Cam or vice-versa."

Camden Gianni

Gianni, a preseason All-American, hit .143 in the first set but finished at .234 with 17 kills, eight digs and three service aces.

"You could see a little doubt in Camden where he started letting off his aggressive attacking and we talk a lot about that we really only want him to tip-and-roll shot when we need to," Werle said. "We want him to go bang."

Gianni was indicative of the nerves that overcome GCU early, as it returned to full-sized crowds and began its first season with GCU Arena as a full-time home.

"McKendree is a very well-coached team," Werle said. "They work really hard. They're scrappy and make plays. Our nerves showed early. Everyone in the stadium could tell our guys were nervous. That's totally normal and I'm comfortable with that.

"When it got down to the nitty-gritty of extra points and how we handled the pressure is how we need to be from point 1. I'm really happy with how we responded to those pressure situations, but we shouldn't have put ourselves in that position."