Lopes complete comeback for 13th straight win

Friday, February 17

Los Angeles, Calif.

8 p.m.

Grand Canyon

13-0,2-0MPSF

USC

6-6,0-2MPSF

Grand Canyon

Southern California

Photo by: Zach Campbell

2/17/2023 10:44:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Janke, Thorne key No. 5 GCU's comeback at No. 12 USC

By: Jerob Moon

LOS ANGELES – The No. 5 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team wrapped up the first leg of a conference-opening, two-week road trip with a 3-1 win over No. 12 USC at the Galen Center on Friday night.

The Lopes (13-0, 2-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) continued the program's best-ever streak after rallying from a first-set loss. After hitting just .061 in the first set, the Lopes got back on track to hit .365 the rest of the way.

Freshman middle blocker Cameron Thorne was key in the comeback, collecting 11 kills on .786 hitting. along with four blocks while sophomore setter Nicholas Slight quarterbacked the offense with 44 assists and a match-high nine digs.

GCU came out flat against USC (6-6, 0-2 MPSF), dropping the first set 25-21. The Lopes had just 10 kills and eight attacking errors and were unable to overcome an early 8-2 deficit. The Lopes attempted a late rally with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to four, but the Trojans finished off the set.

The Lopes began their comeback with a 25-22 win in the second set. Junior outside hitter Jackson Hickman, who had just one kill in the first set, exploded for 11 kills on .562 hitting in the second set. GCU also was able to quiet a Trojan service game that had three aces in the first set by successfully receiving all 19 serves in the second frame.

Tied at 10-10, the Lopes went on a 6-3 run to go back up by three as Hickman accounted four of those points. GCU extended the lead to 23-18, but the Trojans clawed back into the set trailing tro trail 23-21. Hickman and the Lopes refocused and won the final two points to even the match.

The third set was the best offensive showing for GCU all night, hitting .455 in the 25-20 win. GCU senior outside hitter Christian Janke found his groove for four of his 13 kills in the set while redshirt freshman opposite Jonah Gilbert was a spark off the bench with four kills on seven swings.

The Lopes jumped in the lead with an early 5-0 run to make it 9-4 and never gave it up. USC trimmed the lead to three, but the Lopes took advantage of seven service errors from the Trojans to maintain the lead.

In the fourth set, the GCU defense came to play, recording six blocks and holding USC to .206 hitting to close out the match with a 25-22 set win. Five Lopes recorded a block and Thorne saved his best for last, adding three kills and four blocks to his stat sheet.

The set was close with eight ties and two lead changes. After a tie at 11-11, USC took the lead with a 4-1 run. That lead quickly disappeared as GCU answered with a 9-2 run to regain the lead at 18-16. Janke ended that run with a kill, block and kill in consecutive points. Both teams traded the final six points and Thorne ended the match with his 11th kill off a quick set from Slight.

The Lopes will now focus on the second leg of the road trip that will take them to No. 7 Pepperdine next week for a pair of MPSF matches on Feb. 22 and 24.