Depth puts Lopes in mix for 1st NCAAs trip

Friday, February 25

Phoenix, Ariz.

10:30 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Boise State

Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

2/25/2022 8:00:00 AM | Beach Volleyball

Newcomers join returnees to keep Lopes in national top 10

By: Paul Coro

For the second straight season, Grand Canyon beach volleyball scheduled a trip to a tournament in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Lopes plan to go there twice this season.

GCU is entered in a regular-season tournament there again this year, but the Lopes expect that to be a site visit for the tournament there in May.

Between its highest preseason national rankings in program history and an expanded NCAA tournament field, GCU starts its season this weekend with an expectation for it to be a historic one that ends in its first NCAA tourney trip. The NCAA Division I Council voted in December to expand the field from eight teams to 16 teams that wil vie for a national title in Gulf Shores this May.

That puts sixth-year head coach Kristen Rohr's team, ranked No. 9 and No. 6 in preseason polls, in prime position.

"We've been talking a lot about how we have the athletes and we have the talent," Rohr said. "We're deeper than we've ever been. As coaches, we've had to make some really tough decisions going into opening weekend with what we want to do with the lineup. If we can be strong mentally and combine that with where we are skill-wise, we're going to be scary."

Those answers will start to come with this weekend's Canyon Classic, which begins with Friday matches against Boise State, No. 12 Arizona and Arizona State on Friday with a pairs tournament on Saturday at GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium.

GCU's optimism comes with a strong returning core and the addition of freshman Samaya Morin, junior Abbie Hughes and fifth-year senior Jess Vastine.

Morin, from Lake Stevens, Washington, is considered one of the top freshmen in the nation and will be the only freshman in GCU's opening-week lineup.

The 6-footer began to shift her volleyball focus to playing on the sand before her high school senior year. She underwent knee surgery a year ago but showed in the fall that she could be the blocker the Lopes needed.

"As soon as we saw her play in a fall tournament in California, we said, 'She's the one we need to get ready,' " Rohr said. "She's a very physical athlete. She already has good body control and has good size, which is something we're always needing."

GCU also brought in tremendous experience in Vastine, a South Carolina graduate transfer, and Hughes, a Florida International transfer.

Vastine, a graduate of nearby Goodyear Millennium High School, brings size at 6 feet 1 and accomplishment. The blocker went 26-6 on Courts 3 and 4 last season and has been to the NCAA tournament for indoor and beach after playing both for four years with the Gamecocks.

"She's had a lot of growth since she's been here and is really doing a nice job," Rohr said.

Hughes, at 5 feet 8, is part of a deep group of four defenders who Rohr could see playing on Courts 1 and 2. She will plays two seasons at GCU after going 25-5 on Courts 2 through 4 at FlU last season.

"She's a really good all-around beach volleyball player with an IQ for the game and she's a hard worker," Rohr said.

The returning Lopes contingent features a pair of aspiring Olympians in Anaya Evans, a 5-foot-8 junior from England, and Allanis Navas, a 5-foot-4 sophomore from Puerto Rico. Both play for their national teams, as has fifth-year senior Teagan DeFalco with USA Beach Volleyball as she wraps up her Lopes indoor and beach volleyball legacy.

Anaya Evans Action

Evans picked up experience from Court 1 to 4 last season.

"She has a super strong work ethic and has come a really long way since her freshman year," Rohr said.

In Navas' first season, she set a single-season win record by going 25-4 on Courts 1 through 4, including an 18-0 mark on Court 4 with departed Paula Hoffman.

"She's improved a lot already," Rohr said. "She's just playing really good volleyball right now. She loves competing for her national team and has really high goals of continuing on. She's improved in a lot of areas and she was already a really good player."

DeFalco came to GCU in 2017 and added beach to her repertoire in 2019, leading to a spot at the 2019 U21 World Championships. She returned to the indoor team in the fall for her final season and was named WAC Libero of the Year.

"She probably our best all-around athlete," Rohr said. "Her defense definitely looks better this year from last year. Defense and serve, that's all she does indoors. She's always had a strong arm and was a real crafty player. Putting that all together makes her really good."

Allison Hansen, a 6-footer, is among the sophomores who Rohr sees playing with more confidence after being on Court 2 last season and showing a knack as a puller, sideout player and setter.

"I'm excited to see what she does this year," Rohr said of Hansen, who came from the same Washington beach volleyball club as Morin.

The coaching staff, with new assistants Abra Rummel and Tony Howell, has no hesitation in naming 6-foot sophomore Krista Rowan as the team's most improved player. The Chandler native's size and athleticism were projected to make an impact in her third or fourth season, but a dedicated offseason moved up her timeline.

"She trained as much as she could," Rohr said. "She increased her vertical and stronger. She increased her skill by a lot. She's the biggest talk on the team of biggest improvement. She's part of our leadership team, so she's not just a great teammate and player, but she's a very respected individual. We're excited to see her make that quick progress."

The Lopes finished in the coaches' national top 10 for the first time in 2020 at No. 7 and repeated the feat last season at No. 9. They start this season at No. 9 in that poll and No. 6 in the College Beach Volleyball Committee poll.

"It's always fun to see where the starting point is for motivation," Rohr said. "It reflects on, one, what we did last year with being a couple wins away from possibly having a run at the postseason and, two, the talent that we've brought in this year with really great transfers and incoming freshmen."