Lopes place 5th in MPSF Coaches' Poll

12/16/2024 2:14:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

GCU's 10 new student-athletes look to repeat conference title

By: Nathan Peters

With the 2025 season upcoming, the Grand Canyon men's volleyball team was picked fifth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Lopes are coming off a historic 2024 season that saw the program set a new record with 26 wins along with an MPSF championship and its first NCAA tournament win.

"We are excited about our roster this year," GCU 10th-year head coach Matt Werle said. "As much as we miss the guys that have graduated and moved on and started their professional careers, seven freshmen and three transfers are a lot, so the style of play could change a little bit this year. That dynamic of our team will be a little bit different this season. But with that being said, it's been nice to get back to some basics and fundamentals of the sport and make sure that all 10 of our new athletes are on the same page with our returners."

GCU collected 39 points for fifth place in the MPSF Coaches' Poll. The Lopes add 10 new athletes with three transfers and seven freshmen.

The Lopes return graduate opposite Jarrett Anderson, junior setter Jaxon Herr and seniors Cooper Herndon and Karter Rogers.

Anderson enters the season as the nation's active leader in service aces with 264. The Largo, Florida, native tallied 12 kills on .346 hitting with nine digs in last season's MPSF Championship win against UCLA.

"Jarrett came on during the second half of the season last year and was so phenomenal from the service line," Werle said. "He's a tremendous blocker and the tempo of offense that we can run to Jarrett overhead is probably one of the fastest in the country."

Herndon closed last season with 182 digs as the primary libero who appeared in 27 matches.

"Cooper is definitely experienced," Werle said. "He is a tough kid and is emerging as a leader with this younger group."

Herr and Rogers are set for increased roles after strong 2024 campaigns.

Rogers appeared in 26 matches while starting in 16 of them. The Denver native landed 92 kills and 18 service aces on the season.

"Karter will be a huge part of our success this year," Werle said. "Karter has one of the best arms in the country, along with one of the best serves in the country when things are flowing for him."

Last season, Herr finished with the second-most assists on the team behind Nic Slight, who was an All-America first-team selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

"Jaxon has confidence and is not afraid to go compete at a high level," Werle said. "He is a sponge and arguably one of the most coachable kids in our gym. Jaxon has been a tremendous part of bringing this group together as quickly as possible with 10 new guys and 12 returners. We are excited to see Jaxon take the reins this year and really see what he can do with it."

The Lopes added transfers in senior middle blocker Cole Duncanson and junior outside hitters Trent Moser and Cole Ottmar.

Duncanson comes from Charleston as a second-team selection in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.

"He is a massive middle blocker, top to bottom," Werle said. "His net presence, along with his core presence, is stellar. He brings great energy to the table. He can score offensively, he can score from the service line, and his lateral blocking is strong too, so we're excited to have Cole on board for one season."

Moser comes to GCU as a transfer from BYU, where he was selected to the All-MPSF Freshman Team two season ago. Moser played for the U21 USA National Team in 2022 and 2023, as well as the 2024 Men's Collegiate National Team.

"Transfers always can be a little bit scary, but what Trent has brought to the table in terms of leadership is something that we really appreciated, something that we really needed, so we're excited to have Trent be a part of our program," Werle said.

Ottmar joins the Lopes after playing his first two seasons in Hawaii.

"Cole has been a great in our gym," Werle said. "He is really competitive and brings out a pretty good fire and chip on his shoulder on the court. While off the court, he's a great guy, speaks well and is very mature. If we need a little spark, he kind of resembles Jackson Hickman on the court. That was something that Jackson provided for this last year, and that's something that Cole will definitely provide for us this year."

The Lopes have a strong freshman class, which includes Connor Oldani, Braedon Marquardt and Trevell Jordan.

Oldani is an AVCA second-team All-American as well as an Arizona state champion in high school at Phoenix Brophy Prep.

"Connor has emerged into one of the best outsides in our gym currently," Werle said. "Connor is just a stable force. He speaks up as a freshman, providing positive things. He has great insight into the sport, is a great culture guy and ultimately Connor can play the whole game. He can pass, he can play some defense, he could block some balls and he can go score with several different shots. So Connor is going to be great for us to too."

Defending national champion UCLA took the top MPSF spot while BYU earned one first-place vote to finish third behind USC.

The Lopes open the season at NJIT in Newark, New Jersey, on Jan. 10.

"We're excited about this roster," Werle said. "We think it's very diverse, A little bit youthful, but we're ready to go."

MPSF Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Points
1	UCLA (8)	64
2	USC	51
3	BYU (1)	48
4	Pepperdine	45
5	Grand Canyon	39
6	Stanford	31
7	Concordia Irvine	21
8	Vanguard	16
9	Menlo	9