GCU, UC Irvine face off in top-10 showdown

Friday, February 3

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

UC Irvine

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Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

2/2/2023 2:22:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

No. 9 Lopes take 8-game winning streak into weekend home matches

By: Jerob Moon


No. 9 Grand Canyon Lopes (8-0)	vs.	No. 7 UC Irvine Anteaters (7-1)
		Friday-Saturday, Feb. 3-4 6 p.m./4 p.m. GCU Arena/Antelope Gymnasium
Match Notes		Live Stats Live Video

The No. 9 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team will face its first top-10 opponent this weekend when No. 7 UC Irvine visits GCU Arena on Friday night and Antelope Gymnasium on Saturday. The Lopes will wrap up a busy six-game homestand over nine days. GCU most recently defeated Lees-McRae in two midweek matches on Tuesday and Wednesday to move to 8-0.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

DEPTH FLEXED: The Lopes showed their depth against the Bobcats with 17 players seeing the court in seven sets. A trio of Lopes made their season debuts with setter Jaxon Herr recording a career-high 38 assists on Wednesday. Middle blocker Matthew Meeker-Hackett earned his first career start on Wednesday and recorded three kills with a dig while transfer Jack Palmer had two kills in Tuesday's match.
NO. 2 IN THE NATION: The Lopes have been one of the best offensive teams in the NCAA this season, ranking second in the nation with a .390 hitting percentage. GCU has hit over .400 in three of the last four matches while registering a .492 match against Lees-McRae on Tuesday.
RANKED OPPONENTS INCOMING: The schedule for the Lopes will be tougher with four ranked opponents on the horizon. After the Lopes face No. 7 UC Irvine and Arizona Christian on Feb. 10, the Lopes will begin Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play at No. 10 USC and No. 5 Pepperdine before returning home to face No. 11 BYU. After facing the Cougars, the Lopes will welcome No. 8 Ball State to Phoenix with a midweek match on March 8.

SCOUTING

UC Irvine will face Benedictine in an exhibition match in Mesa on Thursday before coming to GCU Arena. The Anteaters have been on a tear to start the season with only one loss to BYU in five sets on Jan. 27. UC Irvine is ranked inside the top 10 in five categories, including third in kills per set (13.1) and assists per set (12.6). Outside hitter Francesco Sani has been the Anteaters' best player with 130 kills and 4.5 kills per set. The UC Irvine junior had double-digit kills in 23 straight matches dating back to last year.