Completed Event: Beach Volleyball versus #10 Cal on April 12, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 4
Beach VB
vs #10 Cal
L 1-4
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Lopes make history with 1st bid to NCAAs
4/30/2022 8:16:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
GCU secures No. 7 seed with at-large berth, will face No. 10 Georgia State in Alabama
The Grand Canyon beach volleyball team's historic season continues as it earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama, announced Saturday night on the NCAA Selection Show.
In the 16-team field, the Lopes earned the No. 7 seed as an at-large selection and will take on No. 10 seed Georgia State on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) for a single-elimination dual. The winner will advance to the eight-team, double-elimination bracket, which begins Friday.
"It's been such a long time coming," GCU seventh-year head coach Kristen Rohr said. "We've been trying to build for this for the last six years and I don't even really know if I can explain my emotions in how excited I am and how proud I am of this team."
The Lopes finished the regular season with a No. 7 national ranking and a program-best 26 wins, a complete turnaround from a 13-16 record in 2018 when fifth-year seniors Teagan DeFalco and Madi Relaz began their beach careers at GCU.
"They're a huge part of why our program is where it is today," Rohr said about the Lopes seniors. "The girls who have been here for years just working their butts off day in and day out, they've been working towards this every day."
GCU will face a common foe in a common place. Earlier this season, the Lopes defeated the Panthers 4-1 in the March to May Tournament at the NCAA Championship site.
"The mindset regardless of who we were going to play is just knowing what we've been doing all along has gotten us to where we are," Rohr said. "This past week, when everyone else was playing in conference tournaments, we went in and just tried to get a little bit better at the things that maybe we're losing points at when we're playing these teams. We've really seen a lot of transfer in a short period of time, from our practices to specific things we're working into games. The mindset is to just keep doing what we've been doing."
The Lopes are coming off a strong undefeated weekend at the Stanford Invitational, defeating No. 11 California, Saint Mary's, Washington and No. 8 Stanford.
"The hope is that we're peaking at the right time," Rohr said.
In the 16-team field, the Lopes earned the No. 7 seed as an at-large selection and will take on No. 10 seed Georgia State on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) for a single-elimination dual. The winner will advance to the eight-team, double-elimination bracket, which begins Friday.
"It's been such a long time coming," GCU seventh-year head coach Kristen Rohr said. "We've been trying to build for this for the last six years and I don't even really know if I can explain my emotions in how excited I am and how proud I am of this team."The Lopes finished the regular season with a No. 7 national ranking and a program-best 26 wins, a complete turnaround from a 13-16 record in 2018 when fifth-year seniors Teagan DeFalco and Madi Relaz began their beach careers at GCU.
"They're a huge part of why our program is where it is today," Rohr said about the Lopes seniors. "The girls who have been here for years just working their butts off day in and day out, they've been working towards this every day."
GCU will face a common foe in a common place. Earlier this season, the Lopes defeated the Panthers 4-1 in the March to May Tournament at the NCAA Championship site.
"The mindset regardless of who we were going to play is just knowing what we've been doing all along has gotten us to where we are," Rohr said. "This past week, when everyone else was playing in conference tournaments, we went in and just tried to get a little bit better at the things that maybe we're losing points at when we're playing these teams. We've really seen a lot of transfer in a short period of time, from our practices to specific things we're working into games. The mindset is to just keep doing what we've been doing."
The Lopes are coming off a strong undefeated weekend at the Stanford Invitational, defeating No. 11 California, Saint Mary's, Washington and No. 8 Stanford.
"The hope is that we're peaking at the right time," Rohr said.
𝙇𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 💃
— GCU Beach Volleyball (@GCU_Beach) May 1, 2022
The Lopes secured the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship! #LopesUp pic.twitter.com/GAhtBKqK7Y
Players Mentioned
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
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