Lopes celebrate Senior Day with sweep

Saturday, November 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

18-8,11-3WAC

Seattle U

6-18,4-10WAC

Seattle U

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Wesley Kurz

11/9/2024 4:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Parrott hits blistering .536 for 17 kills in GCU's 5th consecutive win

By: Nathan Peters

Grand Canyon played clean and smooth through the entirety of a Saturday sweep against Seattle U for its fifth consecutive win.

The Lopes (18-8, 11-3 WAC) remained in second place in the conference with a Senior Day win that was their third sweep in the past four matches.

Prior to the 25-19, 25-17, 25-12 win at Global Credit Union Arena, GCU held a ceremony to recognize the team's six seniors: Mykenna Nelson, Ashley Lifgren, Ava Mason, Alissa Uhlenhop, Trista Strasser and manager Callahan Hefner.

"I did not come in with them, but there is a reason we get to work together in their senior year, and I do think God's hands is in that, in his timing," Lopes head coach Kendra Potts said. "This group has helped welcome us as a new staff and has got the rest of the team on board. I'm just so grateful that it was those five girls that I got to start my journey here at GCU with, and they are just leaving a legacy of giving and loving. I feel like we're going to be able to talk about them for a long time, just saying, 'This is how they did it,' and they gave us a good way to model the way being a great teammate should be."

The Lopes began the first set fast and effective, going on a 4-0 run for a 6-4 lead with back-to-back aces from junior outside hitter Tatum Parrott. Just a few points later, Parrott earned consecutive blocks with Strasser, a middle blocker, to push the advantage to 15-8.

Parrott, a Phoenix native, closed the day with 17 kills on a blistering, season-high .536 hitting percentage.

"Those are just astronomical numbers," Potts said of Parrott's performance. "I really like the offensive balance that we were able to have around that, and it is what we want to do at this time of the year. We're in the day we're in, but we want to keep growing at this time of year."

GCU junior outside hitter Anaelena Ramirez closed the 25-19 set win with a kill on an assist from freshman setter Taylor Kubacak.

Ramirez had a six-kill, .667-hitting on the match, while Kubacak dished 14 assists.

GCU led 15-13 in the second set before a 5-0 run mounted a 20-13 second-set lead.

Lifgren began the run with a strong kill coming from a Kubacak bump set. The following plays consisted of a pair of Mason-assisted kills from Uhlenhop, a middle blocker. Junior opposite Magdalena Juric then received a block and kill.

Uhlenhop had a three-set season high for kills with five, while Mason had a season-high tying 23 assists and 10 digs.

Three kills from Parrott earned a 25-17 set victory and a 2-0 match lead.

The Lopes jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third set, with Juric landing a kill off an assist from Nelson. Juric closed the day with eight kills.

Strasser played the role of closer, notching two blocks and two kills in the final five points of the match, with her match-sealing kill being followed by a Senior Day smile.

"Seattle is a really good serving team, and they were kind of knocking us out in our first contact, but I was really proud of is how we were still clean offensively when we were out of system," Potts said. "We were still terminating and hitting for a high percentage when we weren't in great situations."

GCU heads to California Baptist for a Monday match before returning to Phoenix for the last match of the regular season against Abilene Christian on Nov.14. The WAC Tournament begins on Nov. 21 in Arlington, Texas.