Balanced attack puts No. 6 GCU at 5-0 with sweep

Sunday, January 14

Phoenix, Ariz.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

5-0,0-0MPSF

Lindenwood

0-2,0-0MIVA

Lindenwood

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Wesley Kurz

1/14/2024 3:24:00 PM | Men's Volleyball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes engage middles more on season-best .439 hitting day at home

By: Paul Coro

Success can come from any and all directions, and Grand Canyon men's volleyball is beginning to prove that in court play this season.

The sixth-ranked Lopes continued their undefeated start Sunday with a sweep of Lindenwood that had the GCU attack enveloping the Lions like surround sound.

In winning 25-20, 25-19, 25-13 at Global Credit Union Arena, the Lopes (5-0) were picking their path to success with season-best .439 hitting. That included 25 kills from GCU outside hitters Camden Gianni (10), Karter Rogers (seven) and Jackson Hickman (seven) and 13 kills from Lopes middle blockers Cameron Thorne and Rico Wardlow.

GCU junior setter Nicholas Slight orchestrated the offense, setting the tone with a 15-assist opening set on the way to his 34 assists on Sunday and 81 assists over seven sets of two weekend wins against Lindenwood.

"

This was Nic Slight's best day distributing the ball," Lopes head coach Matt Werle said. "I thought we had phenomenal balance. We got the middles the ball far more than we have – probably 25% of the time, which is good. I still think we need to incorporate the big attack a little bit more."

GCU trailed closely for much of the first set until a 5-0 run, which included two high-hopping Thorne kills. That spurt put the Lopes ahead 21-17, sending them to the 25-20 set win with .560 hitting.

Werle credited a Lindenwood rotation change for keeping the Lopes without a first-set block, but GCU adjusted for its second-set win.

A key 10-1 run came on a deluge of five blocks with Thorne involved in four of them while also adding two of his kills.

"We're not really a stuff-blocking team, per se," Werle said. "Our offense is just so balanced. We talk about going to get good touches and putting ourselves in defensive positions to make it an easy play as opposed to a scramble play and then go transition for points. We did a really nice job in that stretch."

MVB dominates and wins 3-0 to improve to 5-0 on the season

MVB dominates and wins 3-0 to improve to 5-0 on the season

Thorne, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Hollywood, Florida, matched his third-best career kills total with eight, set a career high for digs with five and was one shy of his career high for blocks with four.

"I'm miles ahead of where I was last year," Thorne said. "This offseason helped me a lot, getting more of a connection with Nic and working on blocking stuff with my coach, Matt August. I feel l like I'm at a way higher level than freshman year. The older guys on the team also have helped me a lot with everything."

GCU closed out its third sweep in five matches with a dominant third set, giving the Lopes wins in 15 of 17 sets thus far this season. Each dropped set was a two-point decision.

Although the Lopes were in control of the final set's earlygoing, momentum seemed to shift on a Lindenwood score. The Lions cut the lead to 11-8 on a block against Wardlow, a 6-foot-7 senior.

That roused the Lopes, who scored the next four points with two aces from Gianni, a Rogers kill off Slight's block and a Gianni kill.

"Usually, that's a go sign and a motivator," Werle said of the opponent interaction. "We keep getting on them about internally motivating themselves. But you saw in the third set, one of those middles ran his mouth toward Rico, and everyone had his back and it just elevated our game."

Gianni exited after his 10th kill before a Thorne solo block set up match point for a third set that was vastly different than trailing 17-16 in the first set. The Lopes' only set losses this season came in the previous two matches' first sets.

"We wait to get punched in the face sometimes, but we push through and we have confidence that we're never really going to lose," Werle said. "I wish they would play from the first point with that because things can happen quick, and the equality across the country is getting so much more level that anybody can beat anybody on any given night. We have to be ready for more."

The Lopes have an early-season rematch next with a Friday tilt at UC San Diego, which they swept on Jan. 7 in the Asics Invitational in Santa Barbara, California.

GCU is on the road for its next six matches. But even after last year's historic NCAA tournament debut and 22-win season, this team might be different for more than having the program's highest national ranking ever.

"It's the fire we have," Thorne said. "We have a lot of dogs on our team. We've got a lot of fight to us."