NCAA tourney stage brings same Lopes approach

PULLMAN, Wash. – When the Grand Canyon women's volleyball team stepped into the site of its Friday night NCAA tournament match, Bohler Gym's crimson walls and banners reflected that Grand Canyon will face the only Pac-12 program with eight consecutive NCAA tournament visits and the blue NCAA tournament balcony signs reminded the Lopes of their national stage and stakes at No. 10 Washington State.

But for two hours of Thursday night practice, it might as well have been August in Antelope Gymnasium.

GCU (23-7) was as loose as ever and as buoyant as the music as it prepared to face its highest-ranked opponent ever Friday in its NCAA Division I tournament debut at 8 p.m. (Phoenix time) on ESPN+.

"Once we feel comfortable, we tend to play hard and that's all you can ask for," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said as graduate setter Klaire Mitchell spun with her ballerina moves after practice. "We are very even-keeled. We were still goofing around and laughing. People are still doing the same stupid-joke stuff. The same things we've done all year, which is awesome. It's nice to know that this, quote-unquote, big stage is not intimidating them.

"They all think belong here. They all think they are going to win. They all think they worked hard all year for this moment, and it's not too big for them."

Klaire Mitchell at NCAAs

A special, career-capping experience for Mitchell has only been enhanced by the Lopes being sent to the place that the Couer d'Alene, Idaho, native grew up watching Cougars volleyball as a kid. From the time GCU landed at the Spokane airport about 30 minutes from home, the anticipation has been only escalated for the Lopes' most decorated player in program history.

The three-time WAC Setter of the Year is largely responsible for the program's Division I-era turnaround from a .378 winning percentage without her to .731 with her. She guided the offense to NCAAs with 10.7 assists per set this season and will have at least 50 relatives and friends in the crowd Friday night.

"It's really nice and bright lights when you walk in, and all the blue for NCAA was really exciting," Mitchell said of Bohler Gym. "All the nerves and everything set in once we walked in."

Washington State (24-7) is hosting the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018 and expects to fill the 3,000-seat venue. Playing at Bohler Gym is a uniquely loud experience with "The Block" student section standing in bleachers behind one serving area.

The Cougars are 12-4 on their Taraflex home floor this season and have won nearly 80% of home matches over the past three seasons, but the Lopes' style has traveled well this season with a 15-4 record away from GCU.

"They're great," Washington State head coach Jen Greeny said of the Lopes. "They play incredible defense. Their outside hitter, (Tatum) Parrott, is really, really good. We have to serve tough and do a good job passing so we can run good offense.

"They're hungry. They have a super-experienced setter form this area that's ready to win."

GCU junior middle blocker Trista Strasser was struck by the energy of her teammates in summer when she began practicing with them as a transfer from Missouri. After going 14-45 in the two previous seasons, she was looking to help a winning program break through and is now an integral part of the Lopes' historic season.

"It's so exciting, and everyone has tried even harder and everyone was in it to win it together," Strasser said. "To actually be here in real life in person is really exciting. As soon as we all have energy, I think we can do what we did against SFA at the WAC championship."

GCU already played three elimination matches at the WAC Tournament while Washington State is playing its first because of no Pac-12 tournament.

The Cougars match their national poll ranking with their hitting also ranking 10th nationally at .286. They are 13-0 when hitting .300 or better with a big blocking presence, featuring 6-foot-3 senior Magda Jehlarova hitting .416 (11th nationally).

"From the service line, we need to take them out of system as much as we can," Mitchell said. "That's how we took the whole WAC championship. Obviously, this is a different team, but we're sticking to what we're good at. It's going to be a physical game, but that's how SFA was too and we stuck to our game plan and believed in each other. We're on our way up. If we can do what we did at the WAC Tournament and build on it, we'll be successful."

The Cougars are well aware of the Lopes' high-ranking threat as well. Sophomore outside hitter Tatum Parrott ranks sixth nationally in points per set (5.5) and kills per set (4.7). Parrptt recorded a career-high 30 kills when GCU won the WAC Tournament championship in four sets against Stephen F. Austin, also an NCAA tournament team on an at-large bid.

"We definitely are preparing for her mostly," Jehlarova said.

Nollan emphasized the importance of being sharp defensively and taking advantage of scoring opportunities in transition or off mistakes. His team enters its highest-stakes match in its healthiest state of the season.

"I look forward to watching us put on a show," Nollan said. "It's great for our program to be able to showcase to a larger audience around the country. We get to showcase how good of volleyball we play. I love our brand of volleyball. We're dynamic. We serve tough. We run balls down. We make incredible hustle plays, and then we also have the physicality to make some of those big bruising plays too."

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Players Mentioned

Klaire Mitchell

Tatum Parrott

Trista Strasser

Grand Canyon University Athletics