Lopes defeat Rebels in 4 at UNLV

Thursday, October 9

Las Vegas, Nev.

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

UNLV

Photo by: Nathan Peters

10/9/2025 10:18:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

GCU earns 1st MW win in well-rounded match

By: Nathan Peters

LAS VEGAS — Grand Canyon opened its Mountain West road slate with a 25–17, 25–20, 23–25, 25–23 victory at UNLV on Thursday night at The Pavilion.

The Lopes (9–7, 1–4 MW) hit .324 with 57 kills and 12 total blocks, closing the match with a 19-kill, .310 fourth set to seal the result.

"I'm pretty proud of how clean we were from start to finish," Lopes head coach Kendra Potts said. "Finishing at that clip (.324) as a team is good — and it's becoming a trend. We're being patient, playing longer points, and our volleyball IQ continues to grow."

The Lopes committed just 11 attack errors compared to UNLV's 22 across four sets.

Senior outside Anaelena Ramirez led the GCU offense with 17 kills, her career high for a four-set match, on .400 hitting while also adding three block assists to tally 18.5 points.

"Ana was so efficient and calm at .400, but the bigger win was how she handled serve-receive," Potts said. "When she's steady there, we get the version of her you saw offensively."

Lopes freshman setter/opposite Bella Nunez tallied a do-it-all line of 11 kills on .385 hitting, 21 assists, 11 digs, four blocks and one ace (14.5 points). She helped GCU hit .394 in Set 2 and .310 in Set 4.

The triple-double marks her third of the season, putting her in elite company. Only Izzy Ostvig from UMBC also has three with Coastal Carolina's Jalyn Stout tallying eight.

GCU sophomore middle blocker Aubrey Goodere added nine kills on .318 hitting with three blocks, while freshman middle blocker Aubrey Bellus delivered eight blocks, five kills and an ace for 10.5 points.

"Our block is showing up," Potts said. "It's part of what we do. I'm proud of how we're applying the game plan and adjusting mid-match."

Lopes freshman opposite Ana Jaramazovic chipped in five kills on .308 hitting with four blocks.

Sophomore setter Taylor Kubacak distributed 16 assists with two aces, including a high-pressure serving stint for GCU late in the fourth.

"We've talked a lot about high-pressure serving, and Taylor put it together, especially in Set 4, knocking them off the net so we could defend and pull away," Potts said.

Defensively, GCU's scheme produced 12 total blocks and 52 digs. Junior libero Bella Anderson tallied 13 of those digs and added 15 assists to steady the Lopes' first and second contact.

GCU trailed 3-2 early in the fourth set before Nunez had back-to-back kills and a block that put the Lopes in front. A few points later, GCU went on a 6-0 run.

The Rebels inched back into the set to get to a 23-23 score. A strong serve from Kubacak led to a block from Bellus and Ramirez before a Nunez kill won the match.

Looking ahead with New Mexico visiting GCU on Saturday, Potts emphasized process.

"We have to play one point at a time," Potts said. "Tomorrow is about treatment, reset, a new scout and purposeful reps—then compete at our highest level on Saturday. Don't sit on the point behind us or look too far ahead—just play the one in front of us."