UCLA visits GCU Arena for top-5 matchup

Friday, March 31

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

UCLA

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Photo by: Zach Campbell

3/30/2023 2:01:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

No. 5 Lopes host No. 2 Bruins in final regular-season home matches

By: Jerob Moon


No. 5 Grand Canyon Lopes (21-2, 6-2 MPSF)	vs.	No. 2 UCLA Bruins (21-2, 6-0 MPSF)
		Friday/Saturday, March 31/April 1 6 p.m./4 p.m. GCU Arena
Match Notes		Live Stats Live Video

The No. 5 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team will wrap up its 10-match homestand with a pair of matches against No. 2 UCLA on Friday and Saturday. The Bruins are the highest-ranked team to play against the Lopes in GCU Arena since February 2021, when GCU hosted No. 1 BYU.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

SERVE SUCCESS: The Lopes have been dialed in from the service line in the past four matches. Since March 15, the Lopes have 22 service aces, including 13 in two matches against Concordia-Irvine last week. For the season, junior Camden Giannni leads the team with 36 aces and the Lopes have 122 aces on the year.
OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUTS: GCU and UCLA have been two of the top offensive teams in the nation. The Lopes are in the midst of a program-best .367 hitting percentage this season, which is good for third in the country. Likewise, UCLA leads the nation with .375 hitting this year.
SENIOR DAY: Saturday will be a special day for the Lopes as they honor five seniors in the final home game. Christian Janke, Grayson Browning, Cole Udall, Jacob Guerber and Colin Lovejoy will all be honored for Senior Day. The five Lopes have combined to play in 305 matches while accumulating over 1,400 kills.

SCOUTING

UCLA enters as the top team in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 6-0 record. The Bruins have not dropped a set in conference play as they have swept matches against BYU, Concordia-Irvine and Stanford. The 2022 NCAA tournament semifinalist returns four starters, including All-America pair Merrick McHenry and Ethan Champlin. UCLA ranks first in the nation in aces per set, hitting percentage and blocks per set. Ido David leads the team with 3.63 kills per set while Guy Genis has a team-high 77 blocks.