Hickman's leadership and offense led Lopes past Highlanders

Saturday, March 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

18-2,6-0MPSF

NJIT

8-11,0-4EIVA

NJIT

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Jack Gilday

Hickman's leadership and offense led Lopes past Highlanders

3/16/2024 7:49:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

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The senior finished with a match high 21 kills on 41 attacks

By: Nathan Peters

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team extended the home winning streak to eight, remaining perfect at home through the season thus far. The Lopes managed a 3-1 win over NJIT at Global Credit Union Arena on Saturday.

The No. 4 Lopes (18-2) repeated Friday's performance with a slow first set, that NJIT capitalized on with a 25-19 victory.

"We have been coming out with slow starts," Lopes head coach Matt Werle said. "It is a bit frustrating for us because we are trying to instill motivation and understand that every single match, set, and point matters to give ourselves the best chance to make the NCAA Tournament."

Senior outside hitter Jackson Hickman helped the team get going and eventually finished with a team-high in kills with 21.

"Jackson is a stud in really getting guys fired up," Werle said. "He took the starters and said 'look we have to be better,' and it obviously turned from there."

Hickman's offensive pressure both attacking and serving led to strong blocking opportunities for the Lopes. The team finished with a total of 13 blocks. One of those 13 came when Cameron Thorne and Camden Gianni blocked NJIT to close the second set 25-22.

Thorne, alongside senior Rico Wardlow, continued their impressive play in the win Saturday. Thorne closed the day with a hitting percentage of .700 and led the match in blocks with seven total. Wardlow went 10 for 17 attacking and had four blocks.

"We were in system enough to give them the ball," Werle said of the pair. "They are relatively unstoppable at that point."

The Lopes closed the third set with a Hickman kill assisted by Nic Slight. The assist marked one of Slight's 42 on the night. The Lopes won the set 25-23.

In the fourth and final set, GCU found themselves tied 9-9 with the Highlanders before going on an 8-3 run to provide some comfort.

Sophomore Jordan Lucas helped ignite a spark for the Lopes throughout the match to give them a much-needed edge.

"Everything that Jordan did off the ball was great," Werle said. "He hit his serving targets, he blocked a ball late, he dug balls, he was a great off blocker, his effort is contagious, and it was the fire we needed tonight."

The late block came at 23-16 from Lucas and Thorne to set up match point before an eventual service error from NJIT closed the deal 25-17.

As a team GCU led in five of the seven major stat categories.

The Lopes will next head for Concordia on Mar. 21 and 22 to face off in the first MPSF matchup since the first weekend of the month when they swept Stanford twice at home.