MPSF play begins with Pepperdine


No. 10 Grand Canyon Lopes (6-5)	vs	No. 8 Pepperdine Wave (5-3)
		Friday-Sunday, Feb. 18-20 6 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Match Notes		Live Stats Live Video

The No. 10 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team begin Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play with a pair of matches against No. 8 Pepperdine in GCU Arena on Friday and Sunday. The Lopes are coming two straight 3-2 losses to UC Santa Barbara last week at home.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

TOUGH SCHEDULE: The Lopes have played one of the hardest schedules so far this season boasting the third-toughest schedule so far. GCU leads the MPSF when it comes to strength of schedule with eight of thier 11 matches against ranked oppoents this season.
THOMPSON RETURNS: Middle blocker Kyle Thompson made his season debut against UC Santa Barbara over the weekend. The redshirt junior dealt with a medical diagnosis that kept him out of the first nine matches of the season but was cleared to play against the Gauchos. Thompson in limited action played in five sets tallying five kills and four digs and blocks.
ROADTRIP UPCOMING: After facing Pepperdine this weekend the Lopes will hit the road for the next four matches against conference opponents. GCU will travel to No. 13 BYU on Feb. 25 and 26 before traveling to No. 2 UCLA on March 3 and 4.

SCOUTING

Pepperdine is coming off a two-match split against UC Irvine, a 3-0 win at home and a 3-1 loss on the road last week. The Wave are 5-1 at home with all five wins coming in straight set but have struggled in their two road matches losing to UCI and UCSB.

Outside hitter Jaylen Jasper is the reigning MPSF Offensive Player of the Week after recoding 34 kills in two matches. His 23 kills on the road against UCSB is the most by any Wave this season. Along with Jasper's 88 kills, the Wave are led by Spencer Wickens and Jacob Steele each with 75 kills each while defensively Austin Wilmot leads the team with 36 blocks.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes travel to No. 13 BYU for two matches on Feb. 25 and 26.

For more GCU men's volleyball news, notes and numbers, click here to view the match notes.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

WHAT'S NEXT

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kyle Thompson

Grand Canyon University Athletics