Late grit gives GCU 3-2 win at UTRGV

Thursday, October 12

Edinburg, Texas

4:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

13-5,6-1WAC

UT Rio Grande Valley

11-9,5-2WAC

Grand Canyon

UTRGV

10/12/2023 7:15:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Lopes take first 5-set victory of season with reverse sweep

By: Adrianna Candelaria

EDINBURG, Texas — Grand Canyon broke a second-place tie in the WAC with a come-from-behind, five-set road victory against UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday evening.

"What a road battle," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "I'm proud of this group. We find ways to make plays when they matter most."

GCU (13-5, 6-1 WAC) notched 65 kills on the night to tie for the fourth most kills in the program's Division I-era for a five-set match. Sophomore outside hitter Tatum Parrott led the Lopes with a career high of 26 kills and a season-best 26.5 points in her 10th match of .300-plus hitting this season (.308).

Parrott's 26 kills were the most by a Lopes player since 2015, when Melody Horton tallied 27 to tie Natalie Tardy's DI-era program record from 2014.

Meanwhile, graduate setter Klaire Mitchell's 50 assists came within one of her season high against Central Michigan. Mitchell also delivered 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.

Displaying versatility on both sides of the ball, Lopes senior outside hitter Stella Gkiourda (13 kills, 10 digs) posted her second consecutive double-double, while junior middle blocker Alissa Uhlenhop hit .357 for six kills in addition to six block assists and two solo blocks. Led by Uhlenhop, the Lopes pushed 13 blocks to seven for UTRGV (11-9, 5-2 WAC).

Gkiourda (three), Mitchell (two), freshman libero Bella Anderson (three) and junior outside hitter McKenzie Wise (one) combined for nine service aces while the Vaqueros only managed three in their first home loss of the season.

GCU sophomore libero Tatum Thomas defended the floor with 17 digs and while contributing offensively with four assists and a kill.

"They started off super hot and we were sluggish in the first set," Nollan said. "Our offense showed up in Set 2, but we could not play defense well enough to stop them."

What began as a 2-0 match deficit, after losing 25-18 and 25-23, slowly shifted in the Lopes' favor as offensive and defensive efforts became symbiotic.

"We came alive in Set 3, and at that point, we knew we were going to five," Nollan said.

With a hunger in their eyes, the Lopes built as much as a nine-point lead on a 4-0 scoring run from a kill by junior middle blocker Trista Strasser (21-15), a successive solo block and kill by Wise (22-15, 23-15) and a Gkiourda kill (24-15). Gkiourda closed out the sweep-saving set with another kill at 25-17.

The fourth frame featured a tight race of four ties before an 8-8 lock. Fortunately, GCU broke away with five unanswered points on three Parrott kills and two UTRGV attack errors to take a 12-8 lead. A second 4-0 run pushed the Lopes lead to 22-14 for all the breathing room they needed. A kill by Gkiourda (23-15) and a solo block by Mitchell (24-15) allowed another nine-point Lopes advantage and the ultimate set clinch and 2-2 match score on a Vaqueros service error.

Nearly leading the fifth set in its entirety, GCU reached a 14-10 advantage on a Mitchell-Uhlenhop stuff, but allowed UTRGV to crawl back into contention with four unanswered points. In the end, a Parrott kill put the Lopes up 16-15 before a final Parrott-Strasser block took the match-deciding set at 17-15.

GCU travels to Riverside, California, for a Monday match versus fifth-place California Baptist (10-7, 3-3 WAC) at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time).