WAC power matchup goes to UT Arlington

Thursday, September 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

7-5,0-1WAC

UT Arlington

11-2,1-0WAC

UT Arlington

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Nate Cochran

9/26/2024 9:53:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes rally for 3rd-set win but lose in 4 despite Ramirez's 13 kills

By: Paul Coro

The next time the projected top two teams in the WAC meet, Grand Canyon may not run out of steam from having to pull itself out of a hole and may not have to try to beat UT Arlington without its best player.

The Lopes want nothing to do with using either alibi for Thursday night, when they lost their WAC opener in four sets to the Mavericks at Global Credit Union Arena.

UT Arlington (11-2) overwhelmed GCU in a 25-8 first set. But even without the firepower of injured WAC Preseason Player of the Year Tatum Parrott for a third consecutive match, the Lopes (7-5) shook off the start like a nightmare and played more like the team that won two sweeps without Parrott last weekend.

GCU led the second set 22-20 before losing it 26-24 to create a must-win third set, where it trailed 3-2 but never again in a 25-20 win. UT Arlington matched its season high of .333 after it closed out GCU with a 25-17 fourth set.

"UTA came out with a big chip on their shoulder," Lopes head coach Kendra Potts said. "I want to give them more credit than blaming it on us for not playing well. We had to regroup. After that first set, I said, 'Let's make this the first set of the match.' You can have a bad start, but it doesn't have to be a bad night."

After the Mavericks ended the first set on a 7-0 run, the Lopes dug an 8-1 hole to start the second set before a GCU timeout flipped momentum. Lopes freshman middle blocker Aubrey Goodere notched two kills and a block assist to join sophomore defensive specialist Bella Anderson's ace in a 4-0 run.

GCU senior middle blocker Trista Strasser moved to 13th in the nation for blocks after adding five more Thursday, giving her 65 for the season. That is a full month earlier than she reached 65 blocks last season. But it was Strasser's run of power kills that paced the Lopes in the second set and led up to senior outside hitter Ashley Lifgren's block giving the Lopes a 22-20 lead, ending a 20-12 GCU stretch.

"We got in a groove and played more like ourselves and exposed their weaknesses," Potts said.

The Lopes fell behind 23-22 but tied the second set at 23-23 and 24-24 on a block and a kill from junior outside hitter Anaelena Ramirez. UT Arlington graduate outside hitter Brianna Ford used two of her match-high 20 kills to close out the set and give the Mavericks a 2-0 match lead.

"We let go of the first set and kept pushing forward," Ramirez said.

GCU pushed into its best play for the third set, where Ramirez delivered four of her career high-tying 13 kills. She just set that career high last weekend in the first match without Parrott, who sprained an ankle early in a Sept. 15 loss to Pacific.

"We've expanded our offense, especially running the 6-2 with MJ (Magdalena Juric) and incorporating the middles and opposites more because Tatum did carry a big weight and heavy load on herself.," Ramirez said. "The way that I like to look at it is that I have to be confident in myself and keep fighting for me and my team, knowing that I am capable."

Once a Lifgren kill closed out GCU's 25-20 third-set win, the Lopes opened the fourth set with a 3-1 lead and were tied 8-8. A 9-3 Mavericks run broke open the set, and he Lopes could not recover,. UT Arlington use a 4-0 run, including three Ford kills and an ace, to close out a 25-17 set victory and 3-1 match win.

"When you do all that work to climb out of a hole that you dug, I want to see us keep climbing and not stop and say we're tired," Potts said. "That's the biggest letdown. The spirit and the will to compete diminished in the fourth set. That's on us as a staff."

The Lopes play five of their next six matches on the road, starting with a WAC road opener at Seattle U at 1 p.m. Saturday. That match will be the Redhawks' conference opener after they fell to 2-8 with a Saturday 3-0 loss at San Francisco. GCU has won the past nine meetings in the series.

"I want our team to realize we're going to get everyone's best night in the WAC, as we should," said Potts, whose team edged UT Arlington by one point in the WAC Coaches Preseason Poll.

"When you get a preseason No. 1 nod and you're the defending WAC Tournament champions, there's no better night to knock off a team like that. We need to welcome that target and be a moving target. That's when you have to bow up and say, 'Game on.' Our bounce-back is imperative."