Lopes host Ball State, Olivet Nazarene

Wednesday, March 8

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Ball State

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Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

3/7/2023 3:22:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

GCU takes break from MPSF play with 2 nonconference matches

By: Jerob Moon


No. 5 Grand Canyon Lopes (16-1)	vs	No. 11 Ball State Cardinals (11-6)	Olivet Nazarene Tigers (13-3)
		Wednesday, March 8 6 p.m.	Friday, March 10 6 p.m.
Match notes		Live video Live stats	Live video Live stats

The No. 5 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team will take a break from Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play and host No. 11 Ball State and Olivet Nazarene at GCU Arena this week.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SLIGHT EARNS MPSF HONORS: Sophomore setter Nicholas Slight earned his first weekly honor after a stellar weekend. In two wins against BYU, Slight collected 82 assists and eight kills and was named MPSF Offensive Player of the Week. Slight guided the GCU offense to a .354 hitting in both wins over the Cougars and he had tied a career high with five kills in the 3-2 win on Saturday.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Lopes improved their unbeaten home record to 11-0 with a pair of wins over the Cougars. The Lopes are one of three unbeaten teams in the MPSF and the 11 home victories are the most by any team in the conference. At home this season, the Lopes are hitting .378 with 64 service aces.
STRONG SERVES: The Lopes were on fire from the service line last week, tallying 17 aces in two wins over BYU. GCU ranks third in the MPSF at 1.42 aces per set. Outside hitters Camden Gianni and Christian Janke have been the two best Lopes from the service line with 21 and 20 aces, respectively.

SCOUTING

Ball State has been road warriors as of late with six of its last seven games away from Worthen Arena. The Cardinals are in the midst of a West Coast swing with a loss at No. 4 Long Beach State and a 3-2 win over UC San Diego. Sophomore Tinaishe Ndavazocheva and graduate Kaleb Jenness lead the team offensively with over 200 kills each.

Olivet Nazarene has been on a tear at the NAIA level with a 13-3 record and the Tigers enter this week on an eight-match winning streak. The Tigers will host Judson and face Park and Benedictine Mesa on Thursday before facing the Lopes on Friday night. Freshman outside hitter Thoralf Schmelzer leads the team with 156 kills while sophomore middle blocker Kahaku Marquez leads the defense with 55 blocks.