Seniors finish home career with 4 weekend sweeps

Sunday, April 7

10 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Central Arkansas

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

4/7/2024 9:48:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

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Lopes set for Hawaii tournament in 1st of 3 consecutive weekend trips

By: Nathan Peters

The No.19 Grand Canyon beach volleyball team finished the weekend with four sweeps to close the Canyon Classic with a fitting Senior Day celebration. In their final home matches of the season, the Lopes won 5-0 against both Central Arkansas and UTEP on Sunday at GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium.

GCU's No. 1 pair of Krista Rowan and Sarah Dickson played in the last games of both matches. Against Central Arkansas, the two won 21-14, 21-11. In their final home match, Rowan and Dickson won the first set 21-10 against UTEP. In the second set, they jumped out to an early lead and held it through match point. A UTEP service error prompted their teammates to rush the court following an emotional hug between Dickson and Rowan to celebrate their win and the team sweep.

The Lopes (11-12) opened the first match of the day with a quick win against Central Arkansas for the Court 4 duo of junior Madi Bogle and senior Noelle Weintraub 21-18, 21-16. In the second match, the No. 4 pair of junior Jessica Drake and graduate Mackenzie Harris won its 12th straight match with a score of 21-13, 21-11 against UTEP after winning the No. 5 flight in the first match against Central Arkansas.

The Lopes' No. 2 pair of juniors Sophia Hladyniuk and Katie Keefe split the first two sets against Central Arkansas, but Hladyniuk and Keefe rallied from the second-set loss to win the third set 15-7. Against UTEP, the duo won in a similar fashion with scores of 21-17, 16-21, 15-11.

GCU freshmen Adriana Serrano Ferro and Karynn Garrow, won 21-11, 21-15 at Court 3 in the first match and 21-17, 21-12 in Sunday's second match.

Prior to the afternoon match against UTEP, the Lopes celebrated their four seniors.

Here is what head coach Abra Rummel said about each senior:

On Weintraub: "Noelle has come in and brought experience, effort, and confidence to a very young team. We are very grateful to be the program to help her close her collegiate career as a highly successful defender."
On Dickson: "Sarah has grown tremendously in her time at GCU. Her teammates and her coaching staff always know she will show up and lead the way in effort and positivity during practices and games. We are very fortunate to have Sarah be a part of our program for three years."
On Harris: "Mackenzie has shown what diligence, commitment to improvement, and hard work can lead to - in her final year with us she is leading the team in wins and has done it through pure effort and commitment."
On Rowan: "Krista is the definition of servant leader. There is not a person on the team who hasn't felt the positive impact of her leadership and guidance. We have been incredibly blessed to have her as a part of the program."

GCU will head to Hawaii on Thursday for four weekend matches, including two chances at the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu.

GCU 5, Central Arkansas 0

Krista Rowan and Sarah Dickson (GCU) def. Brooke Kuball and Katie Atkinson (UCA) 21-14 21-11
Katie Keefe and Sophia Hladyniuk (GCU) def. Payton Sproule and Anna Collums (UCA) 21-13 16-21 15-7
Karynn Garrow and Adria Serrano Ferro (GCU) def. Anna Linskey and Naya Tan (UCA) 21-11 21-15
Madi Bogle and Noelle Weintraub (GCU) def. Ella Weilert and Liliana Irizary (UCA) 21-18 21-16
Jessica Drake and Mackenzie Harris (GCU) def. Madelyn White and Audrey Cathcart (UCA) 21-8 21-18

GCU 5, UTEP 0

Krista Rowan and Sarah Dickson (GCU) def. Krista Paegle and Paulina Acuna (UTEP) 21-10 21-16
Katie Keefe and Sophia Hladyniuk (GCU) def. Madison Hill and Summer McDonough (UTEP) 21-17 16-21 15-11
Karynn Garrow and Adria Serrano Ferro (GCU) def. Katie Martin and Marian Ovalle (UTEP) 21-17 21-12
Jessica Drake and Mackenzie Harris (GCU) def. Ema Uskokovic and Mila Popovic (UTEP) 21-13 21-11
Madi Bogle and Noelle Weintraub (GCU) def. Adriana Oporto and Alexis Massey (UTEP) 21-11 21-14