Road trip ends with shutout, puts No. 2 GCU at 9-0

Saturday, February 3

Cambridge, Mass.

3 p.m.

Grand Canyon

9-0,0-0MPSF

Daemen

3-2,0-0NEC

Daemen

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Jayden Todd

2/3/2024 5:04:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Lopes end Massachusetts swing with .365 hitting to beat Daeman

By: Jerob Moon

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 2 Grand Canyon men's volleyball team wrapped up its Massachusetts trip with a 3-0 win over Daemen on Saturday.

The Lopes (9-0) cruised to the shutout win by hitting over .300 for the eighth consecutive match while holding the Wildcats (3-2) to .093 hitting. GCU entered the day ranked in the top 10 nationally for opponent hitting percentage and have now held their last five opponents to a sub-.200 hitting marks.

GCU started the match with a 25-20 win the first set. Outside hitters Karter Rogers and Jackson Hickman stared the day strong with six kills on nine error-free swings and added a pair of aces. It was a strong finish for both players as Hickman ended the three-match trip with 29 kills on .510 hitting while Rogers tallied 28 kills on .306 hitting with five aces.

Leading 16-14, the Lopes went on a 3-0 run thanks to a kill and block assist from Hickman while Rogers added an ace. That put the Lopes up 19-14, which was enough breathing room to finish the set.

The Lopes controlled the pace of play in the second set, hitting a match-high .409 in a 25-19 win. GCU junior setter Nicholas Slight distributed the ball to four Lopes, who each recorded multiple kills in the frame. Senior opposite Camden Gianni led the group with four as Slight collected 10 of his 26 assists in the set.

Daemen tied the second set at 7-7 on a GCU service error, but the Lopes used a quick 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead and never gave it up. The Lope lead ballooned to a 22-14 advantage after a 7-2 run later in the set. Senior middle blocker Rico Wardlow and Rogers collected back-to-back kills to clinch the set and a 2-0 match lead.

The Lopes wrapped up the match with a 25-19 win in the third set. Five players combined for nine GCU kills in the set while the defense came alive with four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Cameron Thorne contributed with a solo block and three assists while adding a kill. On the three-game trip,Throne finished with 15 of GCU's 23 blocks. Thorne began the day ranked inside the top 20 nationally in blocks per set this season, and he leads the Lopes with 34 blocks in 30 sets.

The team will enjoy a bye week before the start of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play takes them to Provo, Utah, for a matchup against No. 9 BYU on Feb. 16 and 17.