Momentum builds as Lopes take over 2nd in WAC

Thursday, November 7

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

17-8,10-3WAC

Utah Tech

15-8,9-4WAC

Utah Tech

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Rachel Sollazzo

11/7/2024 9:27:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Mason's 22 assists, career-high 6 aces help GCU to 4th consecutive win

By: Paul Coro

The friction and collision of two winning teams meeting Thursday night kept Grand Canyon's momentum going by halting Utah Tech's.

GCU broke a WAC second-place tie by ending the Trailblazers' five-match winning streak and building the Lopes' late-season thrust with a fourth consecutive victory. GCU prevailed 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 25-23 at Global Credit Union Arena, taking as many sets off Utah Tech in two hours as it had lost in the previous five matches.

The Lopes (17-8, 9-3 WAC) scorched the Trailblazers with .300-plus hitting in each of the first two lopsided sets and gathered itself after a third-set loss to play clutch in the final set.

"Although we were respecting Utah Tech's run and the best season they've had in D-I, we're always talking about teams needing to deal with us," GCU head coach Kendra Potts said. "We're definitely getting in a rhythm and a flow. You can tell that the girls trust each other. It's right where you want to be and feel when you're heading to a conference tournament two weeks from now."

The Lopes' success included the customary damage from junior outside hitter Tatum Parrott, who pounded 18 kills, and the inside strength of senior middle blocker Trista Strasser, who entered Thursday ranked 16th nationally for total blocks and added seven more.

But the match concluding with graduate setter Ava Mason's career-high sixth ace was a fitting finale for her feel-good season story.

Mason thought she was finished with volleyball after last season's Senior Day, WAC Tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance but was encouraged into returning to the program. She did not play for 10 consecutive matches before her current streak of eight consecutive double-digit assist totals.

"I've loved every second of it," Mason said. "I'm very grateful that Kendra has given me the opportunity. I've felt very supported by her and the staff moving into this role. It was scary, but I feel very trusted by them and that helps a lot.

"If you would've told me I was going to be here a year ago, I would've thought you were crazy. It's weird to go into Senior Night because on the last one I was so sad saying goodbye to volleyball."

Mason backed up and spot-started for three-time WAC Setter of the Year Klaire Mitchell in previous years and moved into this season's mix when GCU experienced success with a 6-2 rotation but lost freshman setter Olivia Price to a concussion.

Teaming with freshman setter Taylor Kubacak's 18 assists, Mason came within one assist of a season high Thursday night with 22. She credited assistant coach Evan Larson's zone calls and her steady delivery for serving six of GCU's nine aces.

"Ava has a good rhythm and pace to her offense," Potts said. "She's been here before and seen it. She's playing mature with the experience she's had. She fought for this role and stayed patient. That's the type of person Ava is. She's always giving no matter what role she has. She's not a conditional role player, so that's why she's ready when we put her out there."

GCU's dominant 25-16 first set opened with a 6-1 lead that included two kills and a block assist from junior opposite Magdalena Juric, who also is expanding her role. After having one kill last season for top-25 Washington State, she tallied seven Thursday to give her 60 on the season.

"She can do that," Potts said. "We need to stay confident to go back to MJ for a little bit longer. We started with her as our game plan to get them thinking about somebody else other than Tatum."

Anaelena Ramirez and Trista Strasser

At its healthiest now, GCU becomes more versatile. Its last six points of the first set came on kills or blocks from six players. That momentum carried into a 6-0 start to the second set, when a mild Utah Tech threat was pushed back by a 7-2 run that included two of junior opposite Anaelena Ramirez's nine kills.

Stuck in two rotations, GCU fell behind 19-11 in the third set before getting traction and cutting the Trailblazers' lead to 23-20 with a run that included two Mason aces.

Utah Tech (15-8, 9-4) closed its .440-hitting third set for a 25-21 win that cut GCU's match lead to 2-1, but the Lopes won their sixth consecutive match in the head-to-head series with a tightly contested fifth set.

Strasser stepped up with a three-kill, three-block fourth set and graduate outside hitter Ashley Lifgren and Parrott each added three kills in the closeout set.

"That third set was the Utah Tech we expected all night because they have been on fire," Potts said. "I'm super glad that our girls were able to pull out those tight moments. It's November, so let's embrace those moments and rise up."

The Lopes will go for a fifth consecutive victory at 1 p.m. Saturday, when they will play Seattle U on Senior Day at Global Credit Union Arena. GCU has three regular-season matches left with a one-game lead and the tiebreaker on Utah Tech because of the series sweep.