Seniors shine in 6th straight sweep

Saturday, November 12

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

16-9,10-4WAC

Utah Valley

16-10,10-4WAC

Utah Valley

Grand Canyon

11/12/2022 6:23:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score WAC Tournament Bracket Photo Gallery

GCU downs Utah Valley 3-0 on Senior Day, secures No. 3 seed

By: Adrianna Candelaria

The Grand Canyon women's volleyball team won its sixth consecutive sweep on Saturday, defeating Utah Valley 25-18, 25-19 and 25-19 at GCU Arena. The Lopes cap the regular season at 16-9 and improved to 10-4 in conference play to clinch the No. 3 seed in next week's WAC Tournament.

"I'm really proud of this group tonight," GCU head coach Tim Nollan said. "It's always great to honor your seniors and come out with a great win. Hannah Eskes and Annabelle Kubinski put on a great show, just continuing to do what they've done for their whole careers here, and we got great performances from Megan Taflinger and Melanie Brecka as well."

The Lopes delivered a hitting percentage of .314, led by graduate middle blocker Annabelle Kubinski with a .700 rip for seven kills and eight points against the Wolverines (16-10, 10-4 WAC). Meanwhile, senior middle blocker Hannah Eskes hit .500 with seven kills and nine points. GCU also was led defensively by graduate libero Megan Taflinger with 15 digs.

"Any time your offense hits over .300, you know the setter has got to be doing something right," Nollan said. "(Senior setter) Klaire Mitchell just keeps putting our hitters in great situations."

Mitchell closed the match with a .333 average , two kills and 34 assists.

GCU came out strong with back-to-back, first-set kills from graduate outside hitter Melanie Brecka, who hit a match average of .318. Capitalizing on their 3-0 lead, the Lopes doubled down, hit a .448 clip and built a 20-12 lead with an ace from junior outside hitter Ashley Lifgren, who posted six kills and two blocks as well Saturday.

Two additional kills from Brecka, one from both Kubinski and freshman outside hitter Tatum Parrott, and a Wolverines error sealed the first set at 25-18. Parrott dropped 12 points with 10 kills, eight digs, and two service aces.

The second set, led almost entirely by Utah Valley, was a much tighter battle with seven ties and 15 leads separated by only one point until the 19-19 mark, when GCU broke away for the win with two Wolverine errors, a kill from Parrott and three straight points from Kubinski.

The Lopes clinched the third and final set in a similar fashion, trailing 16-13 before scoring six unanswered points to gain the lead and maintain control for the remainder of the match.

"We are playing some of the best volleyball that we have all year, and I don't think we're even playing our best yet," Nollan said. "I know we still have more in the tank, and I'm looking forward to seeing that next week."

GCU will play No. 6 seed New Mexico State (15-11, 7-7 WAC) in a WAC Tournament quarterfinal at 9 a.m. (Phoenix time) on Thursday at UT Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas.