No. 4 seed Lopes fall to top-seeded Bruins in MPSF semifinal

Thursday, April 20

Stanford, Calif.

4:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

22-7,6-6MPSF

UCLA

28-2,12-0MPSF

Grand Canyon

UCLA

Photo by: Stanford University

No. 4 seed Lopes fall to top-seeded Bruins in MPSF semifinal

4/20/2023 7:40:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Gianni reaches 1,000 career kills; Lopes await possible NCAA at-large bid

By: Jerob Moon

STANFORD, Calif. – The fourth-seeded Grand Canyon men's volleyball team had its run in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship come to an end Thursday with a 3-0 loss to top-seeded UCLA.

The Lopes (22-7) hit just .286 against the tough defense of UCLA (28-2), but GCU was able to match the Bruins with eight blocks and five aces. Lopes junior outside hitter Camden Gianni led the team with 10 kills and became the fourth GCU player ever to reach the 1,000-kill mark in his career.

As it was in both of the teams' regular-season matches, the Lopes held a late lead in the first set, but the Bruins went on a run to win 25-22. The Lopes went toe to toe with the Bruins for most of the set and used a 7-1 run to take a 17-14 lead. Five Lopes recorded a kill in the run that was capped by a block from sophomore setter Nicholas Slight and junior middle blocker Rico Wardlow. GCU held a 22-20 lead after a UCLA service error, but the Bruins flipped a switch and ended the set on a 5-1 run to complete the late comeback.

The Lopes hit just .143 in the second set as UCLA won 25-19. Five Lopes combined for 11 kills in the set and Wardlow brought the Lopes within two at 8-6, but the Bruins answered with a 4-0 run to extend their lead. GCU made it interesting with four straight points to get within one at 20-19, but UCLA closed out the set with a 5-0 run. Janke had back-to-back kills in the GCU run.

Gianni capped off his night with five kills in the third set at UCLA wrapped up the match with a 25-20 win. Freshman middle blocker Cameron Thorne led the Lopes on defense with a trio of blocks assists, setting his career high with six blocks. As in previous sets, the Lopes went on a 5-0 run to get within two, but the Bruins were tough down the final stretch to close out the match.

Now, the Lopes will have to wait until Sunday to see if they can nab one of the two at-large spots in the NCAA ournament. GCU, ranked sixth nationally in the latest poll, had the best season in program history with 22 wins and went 6-0 against fellow at-large hopefuls BYU, UC Irvine, Ball State and Ohio State in the regular season.