Completed Event: Volleyball versus Pepperdine on September 18, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2
Volleyball
vs Pepperdine
W 3-2
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, September 16
Fullerton, Calif.
2 p.m.
Grand Canyon
7-4,0-0WAC
3
vs
0
UC Irvine
2-9,0-0Big West
1
2
3
F
UC Irvine
18
18
27
0
Grand Canyon
25
25
29
3
7th sweep comes versus UC Irvine
9/16/2023 3:51:00 PM | Volleyball
Lopes notch 4th straight game of .300-plus hitting
FULLERTON, Calif. — Grand Canyon posted its third straight sweep victory and its fourth consecutive match with .300-plus hitting when it beat UC Irvine on Saturday.
The Lopes (7-4) went 2-0 in the WAC/Big West Challenge after also sweeping host Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
GCU hit.379 in its 25-18, 25-18, 29-27 victory, led by sophomore outside hitters Anaelena Ramirez (nine kills) and Tatum Parrott (12 kills) with .350 and .324 hitting, respectively. Lopes junior middle blocker Sydney Reed was ultra-efficient with seven kills on eight attacks to go with eight block assists.
Graduate setter Klaire Mitchell delivered 38 assists, helped also by GCU senior outside hitter Ashley Lifgren (seven kills, .267 hitting) and junior middle blocker Alissa Uhlenhop (four kills, .670 hitting).
"Great team win today," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "Tatum Parrott is just a machine. Sydney came up huge for us, and Anaelena did some really nice things as well. But when you look at the attack numbers, two words sum it up: Klaire Mitchell. She is so special."
Applying relentless pressure at the service line, the Lopes notched nine aces, as Parrott reached four service aces for the third time this season, and junior outside hitter McKenzie Wise also tallied four after serving three aces in Friday's win.
Continuing to shine defensively as well, GCU delivered 10 blocks, with Reed's blocking complimented by big solo blocks from Mitchell and Parrott. Meanwhile, sophomore libero Tatum Thomas led the Lopes with nine digs.
Despite UC Irvine hitting.313 in the first set, the Lopes rose above with an impressive team effort of .485, and managed to decrease Anteater productivity with every frame, outperforming UC Irvine .304 to .276 in the second set and .333 to .271 in the final set.
With 16 ties, and several extra points, both squads battled for the third frame.
UC Irvine found an edge at 24-22 with a kill from Isabella Scarlett, but GCU kept its foot in the door with a Parrott kill and an Anteater error. Pulling ahead on an Emma Napoleon kill, UC Irvine had a set point at 25-24, but Mitchell had other ideas, evening the score with a kill. GCU earned match points on kills by Parrott and Wise, but UC Irvine fought each on off to stay tied at 27-27.
In the end, it was a solo block by Mitchell at 28-27 and a block by Reed and junior outside hitter Stella Gkiourda to secure the 29-27 set and match sweep.
GCU begins WAC play Thursday at Southern Utah on Thursday before conitnuing to Utah Tech on Sept. 23.
The Lopes (7-4) went 2-0 in the WAC/Big West Challenge after also sweeping host Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
GCU hit.379 in its 25-18, 25-18, 29-27 victory, led by sophomore outside hitters Anaelena Ramirez (nine kills) and Tatum Parrott (12 kills) with .350 and .324 hitting, respectively. Lopes junior middle blocker Sydney Reed was ultra-efficient with seven kills on eight attacks to go with eight block assists.
Graduate setter Klaire Mitchell delivered 38 assists, helped also by GCU senior outside hitter Ashley Lifgren (seven kills, .267 hitting) and junior middle blocker Alissa Uhlenhop (four kills, .670 hitting).
"Great team win today," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said. "Tatum Parrott is just a machine. Sydney came up huge for us, and Anaelena did some really nice things as well. But when you look at the attack numbers, two words sum it up: Klaire Mitchell. She is so special."
Applying relentless pressure at the service line, the Lopes notched nine aces, as Parrott reached four service aces for the third time this season, and junior outside hitter McKenzie Wise also tallied four after serving three aces in Friday's win.
Continuing to shine defensively as well, GCU delivered 10 blocks, with Reed's blocking complimented by big solo blocks from Mitchell and Parrott. Meanwhile, sophomore libero Tatum Thomas led the Lopes with nine digs.
Despite UC Irvine hitting.313 in the first set, the Lopes rose above with an impressive team effort of .485, and managed to decrease Anteater productivity with every frame, outperforming UC Irvine .304 to .276 in the second set and .333 to .271 in the final set.
With 16 ties, and several extra points, both squads battled for the third frame.
UC Irvine found an edge at 24-22 with a kill from Isabella Scarlett, but GCU kept its foot in the door with a Parrott kill and an Anteater error. Pulling ahead on an Emma Napoleon kill, UC Irvine had a set point at 25-24, but Mitchell had other ideas, evening the score with a kill. GCU earned match points on kills by Parrott and Wise, but UC Irvine fought each on off to stay tied at 27-27.
In the end, it was a solo block by Mitchell at 28-27 and a block by Reed and junior outside hitter Stella Gkiourda to secure the 29-27 set and match sweep.
GCU begins WAC play Thursday at Southern Utah on Thursday before conitnuing to Utah Tech on Sept. 23.
Team Stats
Irvine
GCU
Kills
44
44
Errors
19
8
Attempts
102
95
Hitting %
.245
.379
Points
50.0
63.0
Assists
40
41
Aces
3
9
Blocks
3
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
4
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
LIB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
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