Despite Lopes middles' effort, GCU falls 3-0

Sunday, September 8

Fort Collins, Colo.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

3-3,0-0WAC

Colorado State

2-4,0-0Mountain West

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Grand Canyon	17	12	19	0
Colorado St.	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Nathan Peters

9/8/2024 7:22:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Strasser finishes with 11 kills on .450 hitting to close Ram Volleyball Classic

By: Nathan Peters

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Grand Canyon fell in three sets to host Colorado State in Sunday's Ram Volleyball Classic finale.

The Lopes (3-3) struggled to bounce back from Saturday's tough five-set loss to No.12 Oregon.

The match started fast for the Rams, who took a 7-1 lead and never looked back. GCU put together a 4-2 run, but Colorado State closed out a 25-17 set win.

Throughout the match, the Lopes relied heavily on senior middle blocker Trista Strasser, who finished with a team-high 11 kills to match her career high from 2022 in a four-set match for Missouri.

Four of Strasser's kills came in the second set, but the Rams won 25-12 to take a 2-0 match lead.

Early in the third set, Strasser had two kills in a short span to put GCU ahead 7-6. The Kyle, Texas, native closed her 20-attack evening with a hitting percentage of .450, the highest in her GCU career when hitting 15 attempts or more.

A kill from sophomore outside hitter Emma Wegleitner added to the Lopes' early third-set prominence. The match marked Wegleitner's collegiate debut after redshirting last season.

With GCU leading 10-9, the Rams went on a 7-0 run to regain the lead. The Lopes' last hope came from freshman middle blocker Aubrey Goodere, who had three straight kills to bring the Lopes within striking distance at 23-19. But two points later, Colorado State clinched the sweep.

Goodere closed the match with eight kills, her best for a three-set match and just one off her season high. Goodere has recorded eight or nine kills in four of six matches.

The Lopes return home for the GCU Classic at Global Credit Union Arena, where they will face Portland State, Butler and Pacific on Friday through Sunday.