Offense propels No. 9 Lopes to 9th straight win

Friday, February 3

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

9-0,0-0MPSF

UC Irvine

7-2,0-0Big West

UC Irvine

Grand Canyon

2/3/2023 9:12:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU earns 1st top-10 win of season against No. 7 UC Irvine

By: Jerob Moon

The No. 9 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team posted a statement win on Friday night, defeating No. 7 UC Irvine 3-1 at GCU Arena.

In front of 1,108 rowdy fans, the Lopes offense rolled, hitting .415 while adding a season-high eight service aces. Junior outside hitter Jackson Hickman was the spark plug for the Lopes (9-0), converting his team-leading 13 kills on .527 hitting while adding two aces, two digs and a pair of blocks.

"I'm proud of our guys," GCU head coach Matt Werle said. "We came out really excited. Not to say anything bad about our opponents up to this point, but we were excited about this challenge. It felt like we were in a really good place heading into tonight, getting some bodies back and healthy. I'm proud of our guys."

GCU continues its best start in program history, running its season-opening win streak to nine. No. 7 UC Irvine marked the highest-ranked opponent the Lopes have defeated since besting No. 1 BYU on Feb. 25, 2021.

While the GCU offense has been in a rhythm all season long and entered this match second in the country in hitting percentage, the defense also came to play against UC Irvine (7-2). The Lopes' 28 digs and five blocks kept the Anteaters below their season averages for kills per set and assists per set, both of which were top-three marks in the country. On the flip side, GCU reached the .400 hitting mark for the fourth time in its last five matches.

"(Sophomore setter) Nic (Slight) is doing a really nice job of getting the middles involved in the right time and changing their location at the net with some different runs that we have in our back pocket," Werle said. "He's also utilized our middles as tools to free up our pins and get some one-on-one opportunities which they usually succeed with."

The first two sets were won by the Lopes with identical scorelines of 25-19. GCU junior middle blocker Rico Wardlow came out strong in the first set, collecting five kills on .667 hitting. The Lopes tallied nine digs and limited UC Irvine to just .240 hitting. Late in the opening set, GCU rebounded from a 5-0 Anteaters run that cut the lead to three with a 4-0 run to remain ahead 24-17.

The second set mirrored the first with GCU building an 18-12 lead, only to withstand a 4-1 Anteaters run that made it 19-16. The Lopes answered with a 4-0 run to go up 23-16 and put the score out of reach. Hickman left his mark on the frame with five kills and no attacking errors on six swings.

Down 2-0, UC Irvine responded with a dominant 25-12 third set to extend the match. The Anteaters hit .650 in the frame and disrupted the GCU attack that was unable to maintain any rhythm. UCI's Francesco Sani had seven of his team-high 13 kills in the set.

"The third set was a huge disappointment," Werle added. "We got out of ourselves, lost some discipline and couldn't control our emotions. But the fact that we were able to respond early in the fourth set, these guys have showed some tremendous maturity."

The momentum immediately flipped into the Lopes' favor at the start of the fourth set with a 6-1 run that put them in the driver's seat the rest of the way. Junior outside hitter Camden Gianni had an ace and two kills in three straight rallies to kick-start the offense. The three-time All-American honoree finished with a season-high five kills and three service aces as he continues to ramp up his workload from an injury.

"He's definitely getting a lot stronger and more confident," Werle said. "The longer this season progresses, we're hoping he's only going to get stronger and build off what he's already done. He is so dedicated in our performance center and working with our athletic trainers just to make sure he's back on the court. I think we saw a glimpse of what he's done in the past, but he's only operating at 85 to 90% so there's more room for him."

The early run in the set gave the Lopes the momentum to finish the rest of the way. GCU hit .400 in the final frame as senior outside hitter Christian Janke saved his best set for last, finishing with five kills. UC Irvine made a late push and cut the lead to 23-21, but an Anteater service error and the final kill by Hickman sealed the win for the Lopes.

The Lopes and Anteaters will face each other again on Saturday across campus in Antelope Gymnasium at 4 p.m.