Lopes face George Mason, Ohio State

Friday, January 13

Fairfax, Va.

5 p.m.

Grand Canyon

George Mason

Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

1/12/2023 1:28:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

No. 9 Lopes face 1st road test in cross-country trip

By: Jerob Moon


No. 9 Grand Canyon Lopes (2-0)	vs	George Mason Patriots (0-0)	No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-1)
		Friday, Jan. 13 5 p.m. (Phoenix time)	Saturday Jan. 14 3 p.m. (Phoenix time)
Match notes		Live video Live stats	Live stats

The No. 9 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team will hit the road for the first time this season with a cross-country trip to Fairfax, Virginia, against host George Mason and No. 14 Ohio State in the Patriot Invitational.

Friday's match against George Mason will be streamed live on ESPN+ while Saturday's match against the Buckeyes will only have live stats available.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

MOVING UP: With the two wins over Lindenwood to start the season, the Lopes jumped two spots to No. 9 in the National Volleyball Association/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II Coaches Poll. Six of the seven Mountain Pacific Sports Federation teams are ranked this week with GCU slotting just behind Stanford and two spots ahead of USC.
STANDOUT DEBUT: Redshirt freshman Jonah Gilbert made the most of his collegiate debut in a 3-0 win over Lindenwood on Sunday. The Columbus, Ohio, native took a redshirt last season and parlayed that experience into 12 kills on .429 hitting against the Lions.
OPENING WEEKEND SUCCESS: The Lopes flexed their depth against Lindenwood last weekend with up two wins. Eleven players saw action in both matches as GCU hit .347 with 60 digs and 18.5 blocks on defense.

SCOUTING

George Mason will open its season against the Lopes on Friday. The Patriots finished 13-15 and sixth in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association at 7-9 last year. The Patriots return 13 players, including the team's leaders in kills, assists, blocks and digs, while adding five freshmen. Jack Bolz, a redshirt junior opposite, led the team with 348 kills last year and earned All-EIVA second-team honors.

Ohio State began the season ranked 13th in the national polls and won its season opener over Central State before falling in four sets to No. 4 Penn State. Senior middle blocker Samuel Clark was named the Midwestern Intercolleviate Volleyball Association Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Buckeyes with 26 kills in the opening two matches of the season. He hit .400 for the weekend and led the team with 31.5 points. Clark and junior outside hitter Jacob Pasteur were named to the Preseason All-MIVA squad.