No. 1 Lopes fall to No. 3 Hawaii

Friday, March 8

Manoa, Hawaii

10 p.m.

Grand Canyon

15-2,6-0MPSF

Hawaii

16-1,0-0Big West

Grand Canyon

Hawaii

Photo by: Hawaii Athletics

3/9/2024 12:34:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Gianni delivers 16-kill performance in road loss

By: Jerob Moon

HONOLULU – The top ranked Grand Canyon men's volleyball team lost to host No. 3 Hawaii 3-0 in day two of the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Friday night.

The Lopes (15-2) struggled to string points together as Hawaii (16-1) relied on the nation's top hitting attack to stay one step ahead in front of 8,422 fans.

Senior opposite Camden Gianni regrouped from a .067 hitting mark in the opening match against UC Irvine last night to record a match-high 16 kills on .429 hitting. Junior setter Nicholas Slight fed Gianni early and often in his 26 assists as the Carlsbad, Calif. native was the only Lope to finish in double digits in kills.

The Rainbow Warriors entered this match with the highest team hitting percentage in the country at .411 and increased that team total with a .449 hitting mark. The Lopes were unable to break up Hawaii's roll thanks to 12 service errors and just one ace that came from middle blocker Rico Wardlow in the middle of the second set.

The Lopes also had to face a tough service game from Hawaii, but junior libero Cooper Herndon was up to the task, finishing with a .979 reception percentage on a team-high 25 receptions. Herndon also collected four digs in the match.

The GCU offensive attack improved with every set, starting at a .179 clip in set one and finishing at .423 in the third set. The Lopes hit .304 for the match marking the 13th time this season the team hit over .300.

Hawaii used key mid-set runs throughout the match to extend the lead and flip momentum from the Lopes as they attempted to look for the lead. With GCU trailing 11-7 in the first set, Hawaii went on a quick 5-1 run to extend their advantage to 15-8.

In the second set the score was tied at 8-8 before the Rainbow Warriors went on a 5-0 run while in the third a two-point GCU deficit turned into an eight-point hole after a 7-1 run.

The Lopes will wrap up their stay in Honolulu with their third and final match of the Outrigger Invite on Sunday against No. 14 Lewis at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time).