No. 13 ASU pushed by GCU in 1st match since 1990

Monday, October 21

Tempe, Ariz.

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

13-7,6-2WAC

Arizona State

19-2,7-1Big 12

Grand Canyon

Arizona St.

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

10/21/2024 10:02:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes lead each set by at least 4 with Lifgren, Parrott each notching 11 kills

By: Paul Coro

TEMPE, Ariz. – For where Grand Canyon wants to end up playing in early December, it needed a reminder of what it showed in early September.

The Lopes who had three match points on No. 11 Oregon before taking a five-set road loss was showing that level again Monday night when they played Arizona State for the first time since 1990.

No. 13 ASU downed GCU 25-23, 25-20, 27-25 in front of 2,839 fans at Mullett Arena, but the Lopes will hang onto other numbers for inspiration – leads of four in the first set, four in the second set and six in the third set, as well as battling to end with ties at 19-19, 20-20, 23-23, 24-24 and 25-25 in the third set.

"If we can continue growing and playing at this level and if we can do our job at the WAC Tournament and make it to the NCAAs, we're playing a team seven weeks from now just like this in the first round," GCU head coach Kendra Potts said. "This game allows us to know where we need to get, but if we do that, we can win a first round and that's the goal."

ASU (19-2) won its seventh consecutive match and remained undefeated at home, but GCU made it difficult with .222 hitting (fourth highest among Sun Devils opponents this season) and relentless defensive efforts.

Valley products Ashley Lifgren (Peoria Centennial High School) and Tatum Parrott (Phoenix Greenway High School) each recorded 11 kills in the crosstown match

"There was a lot of energy," ASU head coach JJ Van Niel said of the atmosphere. "It was really fun. They (the Lopes) played really, really scrappy defense and put a lot of pressure on us."

With strong serve receiving against aggressive servers, the match had few rallies. The Sun Devils had the first key one, answered the Lopes' 14-10 lead with a 6-0 run. Lifgren scored the next three GCU points before Parrot put down two skills and freshman setter Taylor Kubacak's ace made it a 20-19 Lopes lead, prompting an ASU timeout.

A pair of GCU service errors aided ASU's 6-3 finish to the 25-23 first-set win for the Sun Devils.

Trista Strasser

The Lopes (13-7) took another four-point lead to start the second set at 6-2 but wound up in another tight set until ASU opened a 20-15 lead on four consecutive points. A pair of GCU blocks forced an ASU timeout, and the Sun Devils emerged with a 5-3 finish for a 25-20 set and 2-0 match lead.

"I love that we were throwing our best, and they had to make some great plays to convert points," Potts said.

GCU held the lead for the first half of the third set, having its best run of the match with a different player scoring each point of a 4-0 run. Parrott and Lifgren kills were followed by junior outside hitter Anaelena Ramirez's tap kill off senior middle blocker Trista Strasser's block and a Strasser stuff for a 14-8 lead.

ASU wiped the deficit away with a 7-0 run for its first third-set lead at 15-14. GCU rallied back to an 18-15 advantage with Lifgren scoring three consecutive GCU points, and the Lopes took their last lead at 20-19 on senior middle blocker Alissa Uhlenhop's kill.

Mykenna Nelson

The match ended with a series of alternating kills and a successful Potts challenge that saved one match point. With ASU leading 26-25, the final point was not decided until the 27th touch, which was Parrott hitting the line on an otherwise impressive back-row swing.

Even long after the match, Parrott grumbled in frustration over how much closer GCU was than the set score indicated.

"I wanted to win so bad," Parrott said. "We fought pretty hard. It's a good learning experience, especially halfway through conference. Playing that high level of a team is really good for us. We were so close with them, and if we're that close with them, we can run the WAC."

ASU runs a quick-hitting unique offensive system and needed a season-high 13-kill performance from graduate outside hitter Shania Cromartie.

The Sun Devils' only losses this season are to No. 2 Nebraska and No. 21 BYU on the road.

"You take a risk scheduling a match like this in October while you're in the middle of your conference swing, but I think strategically it's good for us look at the bigger picture and know what we want to do," Potts said of the programs' first meeting as fellow Division I programs. "I'm really proud of the girls for how free they played, and they also had a lot of purpose. I don't think for a second that they were like, 'Oh, I'm so happy we're just playing well.' I know they had the intent and belief to win."

Potts and Van Niel talked before the match about continuing the metro series.

"We want this to be recurring because I think it's good for volleyball in Arizona," Van Niel said. "It's good for the fan base. It's fun to have a local team that you know you're going to play every year,"

The Lopes return to WAC play this week with home matches against Utah Valley at 6 p.m. Thursday and Southern Utah at 2 p.m. Saturday.