Season-opening series sweep flexes depth

Sunday, January 8

Phoenix, Ariz.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-0,0-0MPSF

Lindenwood

0-2,0-0MIVA

Lindenwood

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Taylor Hansen

1/8/2023 2:36:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Gilbert, Hickman carry offensive load in GCU's 3-0 win

By: Jerob Moon

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team wrapped up the opening weekend of the regular season with a 3-0 sweep over Lindenwood on Sunday at GCU Arena.

The No. 11 Lopes (2-0) flexed their depth against the Lions (0-2) for the second straight match. Redshirt freshman opposite Jonah Gilbert led the team with 12 kills and .429 hitting in his first collegiate match, a 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 victory.

Overall, the Lopes hit over .300 in both weekend victories, dropping only one set in the first two wins of the season.

"I'm happy," GCU head coach Matt Werle said. "I think we lost focus and got a little too loose on Friday night in that third set. And that is something we've talked about, building those leads and sustaining them has been a little difficult for us. Today, we seemed a little more business-like, a little more comfortable on the court."

Along with Gilbert's strong debut, the Lopes saw production from 11 players in their 2-0 season start. Junior outside hitter Jackson Hickman, a Phoenix native, collected 10 kills with no errors on Sunday and led GCU with 22 kills and .432 hitting over the weekend.

"I think it shows with Camden Gianni not being on the court for us that we have guys, and we have depth this year," Werle said. "Karter (Rogers), who started Friday night, came in and did some nice things from the service line today, and what Jonah did offensively was very special. (Christian) Janke, a second team All-American, didn't have the best day offensively, but we had guys like Jackson that pulled the weight, which was pretty cool to see."

GCU recorded just one attacking error and hit .722 en route to a first-set 25-21 win. Gilbert impressed in his first collegiate set, collecting his first kill to take a 9-8 lead. Later in the set, the Lopes regrouped from a Hickman service error by closing out the last two points with a kill by Janke and a service ace from Rogers.

The second set score was closer than how it played out with a Lindenwood 5-1 run proceeding the 25-21 GCU win. The Lopes were efficient on offense again, recording just three attack errors while five players recorded a kill. Gilbert led the way with five kills on eight attempts, while redshirt sophomore setter Nicholas Slight did it all with 11 assists, three digs and a block.

GCU closed out the weekend with a 25-21 win in the third set Sunday. Both offenses faltered, as the Lopes hit just .091 and the Lions hit .040. It was a back-and-forth set, but the Lopes pulled away midway through it with a 6-1 run to lead 20-15. Senior middle blocker Colin Lovejoy saw his first action of the season and finished with a kill and a block.

The Lopes will hit the road for the first time next week in the Patriot Invitational, hosted by George Mason. GCU will face the Patriots in their season opener on Friday before facing No. 13 Ohio State on Saturday. Fairfax, Virginia, will also be the host of the NCAA tournament later in May.

"We're excited to play in the arena that's hosting the national tournament," Werle said. "That's somewhere we want to be later in the year, so getting ourselves exposed to that environment, along with facing a couple of teams from the East Coast and Midwest, will be a good test for us."

Start times will be 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) on Friday against the Patriots and 3 p.m. (Phoenix time) on Saturday against the Buckeyes.