Completed Event: Men's Volleyball versus #6 BYU on March 21, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3
M Volleyball
vs #6 BYU
L 1-3
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Sunday, March 3
Phoenix, Ariz.
12 p.m.
Grand Canyon
15-0,6-0MPSF
3
vs
0
Stanford
8-8,1-3MPSF
1
2
3
F
Stanford
22
18
17
0
Grand Canyon
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Wesley Kurz
Lopes wear No. 1 well, sweep No. 8 Stanford again
3/3/2024 3:50:00 PM | Men's Volleyball, Paul Coro
GCU moves to 15-0 with 6 consecutive victories against top-10 opponents
The No. 1 ranking looks good on Grand Canyon men's volleyball.
The Lopes tried on their top-ranked stature for the first time in program history this weekend with two home matches against No. 8 Stanford. After sweeping the Cardinal on Friday night, the Lopes pulled off a repeat of the feat Sunday in even faster fashion.
GCU set a season high with nice aces by the middle of the second set and turned a first-set comeback into domination for the 25-22, 25-18, 25-17 conference victory at Global Credit Union Anrea.
The Lopes (15-0, 6-0 Mountain Pacific Sport Federation) are riding a similar hot start to last season's 14-0 beginning for the program's first NCAA tournament qualifier. But this team already is accomplishing more with six consecutive top-10 wins, 11 victories by sweeps and one lost set in the past eight matches.
In 49 sets this season, GCU has dropped four.
"It's how we handle ourselves in practice every day," Lopes senior outside hitter Camden Gianni said. "The guys understand what it means to practice hard every day and what that brings when it comes game time. It's about being able to be prepared for games and every other day because those are the days that make you better for when you play a good team like Stanford."
Coming into the weekend series, GCU had lost three consecutive meetings to Stanford, but control flipped Friday night and was maintained Sunday when the Cardinal scored 14 fewer points than Friday.
The Lopes played from behind most of the first set with three consecutive hitting errors putting Stanford ahead 17-16.
The teams alternated points until the Cardinal took a 22-21 lead, to which GCU responded with a 4-0 run that closed out the set on a kill from sophomore middle blocker Cameron Thorne, a block from senior middle blocker Rico Wardlow and senior outside hitter Jackson Hickman, a Stanford error and sophomore service substitution Jaxon Herr's ace.
GCU tallied five more aces during a 16-7 start to the second set, when Stanford never had a lead and faded into a third set that was more lopsided than the score. The Lopes outhit the Cardinal .560 to .179 in the final set, not needing to add to their nine aces in the first 41 points.
"What we did from the service line is very special," GCU head coach Matt Werle said. "All of our guys, including even our float servers, can put on a lot of pressure and put teams in bad situations. Jaxon Herr came off the bench and took out their big attacker, arguably one of the best outsides in the country in Will Rottman. He put three balls on him and dictated what their offense did."
Gianni has been one of the top 15 scorers in the nation, but he concertedly turned up his production Sunday.
The USA Volleyball National Collegiate Team member was averaging 10 kills for every three sets before having a season-high 18 kills on .455 hitting in Sunday's sweep.
"Before the game, I told Bryan (Dell'Amico), our assistant coach, 'I need to be more intentful and more aggressive from the start because that's what carries this team into matches,' " Gianni said. "Being aggressive and not being afraid to get blocked and just knowing the skill set I have has gotten me to where I am."
Gianni ripped six kills, five from the right pin, during the first-set win and stayed consistent with four more kills in the second set and an even more dominant final set. Gianni put down six kills during the Lopes' 12-8 start in the third set and slammed his final one for a 20-13 lead that Stanford could not challenge.
The Cardinal only scored consecutive points twice in the final set with the Lopes' multifaceted attack coming from multiple players and points of attack.
"Our service game allowed us to be so much better at every other facets," Werle said. "Our block touches put us in positions to just go pass a ball or dig a ball up and be in system and then terminate."
GCU junior setter Nicholas Slight maintained his No. 2 national ranking for assists per set by dispersing 29 assists without a setting error Sunday. Hickman added seven kills with Thorne and junior outside hitter Karter Rogers each getting five kills.
Rogers also set a career high with five aces and added six digs.
"Karter has a very special arm," Werle said. "What he did mixing his tempo up from the service line is just next level. He is starting to play the whole game, which is great for us. He had a struggle last year and years past with performing under the lights. Doing what he did at BYU means he can do what he wants to anywhere."
Last month, Rogers' 17 kills in two matches helped GCU become the first team to sweep twice at BYU since 2002. The 6-foot-5 Denver native has 75 kills this season after posting 57 in his first two seasons combined.
"It's awesome," Rogers said of his expanded role. "I'm blessed to be here.
"I've been working hard. My serve has always been there, but I think attacking and working with Nic (Slight) and building a relationship with the guys is what's got me here."
Having been through an undefeated run last season, the Lopes are more accustomed to carrying that target from match to match. Rogers said they keep a "1-0 mentality," and Gianni said the chip the players thrived off is not as necessary with the respect they have earned and the experience they carry.
"We don't have to be chippy in order to play well any more," Gianni said. "We understand what it takes to work hard and not just be better than another team, but to actually work toward a common goal and execute it successfully."
The schedule gauntlet continues with the undefeated Lopes playing their seventh and eighth consecutive matches against top-10 opponents on Thursday (No. 8 UC Irvine) and Friday (No. 3 Hawaii) in the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational. The Lopes will finish the event in Manoa, Hawaii, on Saturday against No. 19 Lewis.
"We'll see how we can be mature adults in Hawaii this week and realize it's a business trip, not a vacation," Werle said. "We need to make sure we understand the magnitude of being No. 1, which is something special. But really, right now, it doesn't mean much. We want to be No. 1 at the end of the NCAA tournament."
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The Lopes tried on their top-ranked stature for the first time in program history this weekend with two home matches against No. 8 Stanford. After sweeping the Cardinal on Friday night, the Lopes pulled off a repeat of the feat Sunday in even faster fashion.
GCU set a season high with nice aces by the middle of the second set and turned a first-set comeback into domination for the 25-22, 25-18, 25-17 conference victory at Global Credit Union Anrea.
The Lopes (15-0, 6-0 Mountain Pacific Sport Federation) are riding a similar hot start to last season's 14-0 beginning for the program's first NCAA tournament qualifier. But this team already is accomplishing more with six consecutive top-10 wins, 11 victories by sweeps and one lost set in the past eight matches.
In 49 sets this season, GCU has dropped four.
"It's how we handle ourselves in practice every day," Lopes senior outside hitter Camden Gianni said. "The guys understand what it means to practice hard every day and what that brings when it comes game time. It's about being able to be prepared for games and every other day because those are the days that make you better for when you play a good team like Stanford."
Coming into the weekend series, GCU had lost three consecutive meetings to Stanford, but control flipped Friday night and was maintained Sunday when the Cardinal scored 14 fewer points than Friday.
The Lopes played from behind most of the first set with three consecutive hitting errors putting Stanford ahead 17-16.
The teams alternated points until the Cardinal took a 22-21 lead, to which GCU responded with a 4-0 run that closed out the set on a kill from sophomore middle blocker Cameron Thorne, a block from senior middle blocker Rico Wardlow and senior outside hitter Jackson Hickman, a Stanford error and sophomore service substitution Jaxon Herr's ace.GCU tallied five more aces during a 16-7 start to the second set, when Stanford never had a lead and faded into a third set that was more lopsided than the score. The Lopes outhit the Cardinal .560 to .179 in the final set, not needing to add to their nine aces in the first 41 points.
"What we did from the service line is very special," GCU head coach Matt Werle said. "All of our guys, including even our float servers, can put on a lot of pressure and put teams in bad situations. Jaxon Herr came off the bench and took out their big attacker, arguably one of the best outsides in the country in Will Rottman. He put three balls on him and dictated what their offense did."
Gianni has been one of the top 15 scorers in the nation, but he concertedly turned up his production Sunday.The USA Volleyball National Collegiate Team member was averaging 10 kills for every three sets before having a season-high 18 kills on .455 hitting in Sunday's sweep.
"Before the game, I told Bryan (Dell'Amico), our assistant coach, 'I need to be more intentful and more aggressive from the start because that's what carries this team into matches,' " Gianni said. "Being aggressive and not being afraid to get blocked and just knowing the skill set I have has gotten me to where I am."
Gianni ripped six kills, five from the right pin, during the first-set win and stayed consistent with four more kills in the second set and an even more dominant final set. Gianni put down six kills during the Lopes' 12-8 start in the third set and slammed his final one for a 20-13 lead that Stanford could not challenge.
The Cardinal only scored consecutive points twice in the final set with the Lopes' multifaceted attack coming from multiple players and points of attack.
"Our service game allowed us to be so much better at every other facets," Werle said. "Our block touches put us in positions to just go pass a ball or dig a ball up and be in system and then terminate."
GCU junior setter Nicholas Slight maintained his No. 2 national ranking for assists per set by dispersing 29 assists without a setting error Sunday. Hickman added seven kills with Thorne and junior outside hitter Karter Rogers each getting five kills.
Rogers also set a career high with five aces and added six digs."Karter has a very special arm," Werle said. "What he did mixing his tempo up from the service line is just next level. He is starting to play the whole game, which is great for us. He had a struggle last year and years past with performing under the lights. Doing what he did at BYU means he can do what he wants to anywhere."
Last month, Rogers' 17 kills in two matches helped GCU become the first team to sweep twice at BYU since 2002. The 6-foot-5 Denver native has 75 kills this season after posting 57 in his first two seasons combined.
"It's awesome," Rogers said of his expanded role. "I'm blessed to be here.
"I've been working hard. My serve has always been there, but I think attacking and working with Nic (Slight) and building a relationship with the guys is what's got me here."
Having been through an undefeated run last season, the Lopes are more accustomed to carrying that target from match to match. Rogers said they keep a "1-0 mentality," and Gianni said the chip the players thrived off is not as necessary with the respect they have earned and the experience they carry."We don't have to be chippy in order to play well any more," Gianni said. "We understand what it takes to work hard and not just be better than another team, but to actually work toward a common goal and execute it successfully."
The schedule gauntlet continues with the undefeated Lopes playing their seventh and eighth consecutive matches against top-10 opponents on Thursday (No. 8 UC Irvine) and Friday (No. 3 Hawaii) in the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational. The Lopes will finish the event in Manoa, Hawaii, on Saturday against No. 19 Lewis.
"We'll see how we can be mature adults in Hawaii this week and realize it's a business trip, not a vacation," Werle said. "We need to make sure we understand the magnitude of being No. 1, which is something special. But really, right now, it doesn't mean much. We want to be No. 1 at the end of the NCAA tournament."
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Team Stats
Stan
GCU
Kills
32
39
Errors
14
10
Attempts
80
77
Hitting %
.225
.377
Points
39.0
54.5
Assists
30
34
Aces
4
9
Blocks
3
6.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
5
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
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