7th straight sweep puts Lopes in WAC semi

Thursday, November 17

Edinburg, Texas

9 a.m.

Grand Canyon

17-9,10-4WAC

New Mexico State

15-12,7-7WAC

New Mexico St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Zach Campbell

11/17/2022 11:30:00 AM | Volleyball, Paul Coro

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Lopes advance to face Stephen F. Austin on Friday, continue Mitchell's 1,000-assist season

By: Paul Coro

EDINBURG, Texas — The venue and stakes changed, but the momentum of Grand Canyon women's volleyball did not Thursday morning at the WAC Tournament.

The Lopes won in a sweep for the seventh consecutive time, matching the third-longest active streak in the nation, to dispatch of former conference power New Mexico State and advance to a Friday 3 p.m. semifinal at UT Rio Grande Valley. With the 31-29, 25-20, 25-20 victory, No. 3 seed GCU (17-9) will play No. 2 seed Stephen F. Austin (24-4).

Winning its 19th consecutive set was the Lopes' most trying in this 21-set streak because they trailed for most of Thursday's first set. After leading 1-0 and 2-1, GCU did not take a lead again until erasing a 19-16 hole with five consecutive points off graduate outside hitter Melanie Brecka's two kills (she finished with 10 ) and freshman outside hitter Tatum Parrott's service pressure.

But even from there, GCU and New Mexico State were tied at 22-22, 23-23, 24-24, 25-25, 26-26, 27-27, 28-28 and 29-29 before junior outside hitter Ashley Lifgren's kill off graduate libero Megan Taflinger's assist finished the set. The Lopes won the set despite hitting .148 with Parrott getting five of her match-high 15 kills during it in her WAC Tournament debut.

"It absolutely made a difference," Nollan said of the first-set comeback. "It kind of set the tone for us, understanding that, hey, we can not play our best, we can have some unforced hitting errors and still find a way to win. I kind of knew after that first set. I felt like we were going to win the second set and have a chance at the sweep if we could take care of business in the third."

Nollan's notion was correct. After making 11 hitting errors in the first set, GCU committed six in the second and third sets combined.

The Lopes hit .310 in the second set, when senior middle blocker Hannah Eskes went on an early tear with three kills and two blocks during an 11-4 run that gave GCU a 12-7 lead. Sometimes, the Lopes defense, led by Taflinger's 19 digs and Lifgren's 14 digs, was the key to scoring off Aggies errors.

Brecka kills accounted for GCU's 21st, 22nd and 23rd points to keep New Mexico State at bay until consecutive Aggies errors ended the 25-20 set and put the Lopes ahead 2-0 in the match.

The Lopes fell behind again at the start of the third set and stayed behind until a 9-1 run erased the Aggies' 16-13 lead. It included a brilliant stretch of setting by senior Klaire Mitchell, who was distributing the offense well to keep New Mexico State off-balance. She assisted crosscourt and backward and to the back row while also catching New Mexico State off-guard with five kills.

"I think how we ended was great momentum because we had a start that was different than what we're used to," Mitchell said. "Getting a sweep today is showing that we're moving in the right direction and building on everything that we're doing."

Mitchell ended the match with her 39th assist, pushing her to 1,001 on the season. It went to the back row for Parrott, whose 15th kill capped her 10th double-digit kill performance since WAC play began. The Phoenix Greenway High School graduate was the only freshman selected to All-WAC first team.

With all of that and the first seven-sweep GCU streak since 1999, the GCU head coach still think there is better play coming in his Lopes' quest to win the WAC Tournament for the first time after consecutive title match visits.

"I think so, to be honest," Nollan said. "We had some unforced errors early that are uncharacteristic for us, and I feel like we still have our best volleyball to play, but I'm certainly proud of the effort we put in."

GCU has not played Stephen F. Austin since the first week of October, when the Lopes lost in four sets. In addition to being the conference's hottest team, the Lopes have a two-time WAC Setter of the Year and three-time All-WAC first-team honoree playing in her fourth tournament.

"I wasn't as nervous when I woke up this morning with everything that's been happening the last few weeks and just how well we've been able to put things together and work as a unit," Mitchell said. "Obviously, there is always going to be a little bit of nerves, especially on Day 1 and playing against New Mexico State. But I felt pretty comfortable out there compared to the last couple of years."