Freshmen glimmer in 4-set loss to Colorado State

Saturday, October 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

8-7,0-4Mountain West

Colorado State

9-5,3-1Mountain West

Colorado St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Jayden Todd

10/4/2025 5:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Bellus, Jaramazavic, Nunez provide for GCU in tight loss to reigning MW champion

By: Nathan Peters

Grand Canyon battled through four competitive sets against Colorado State on Saturday at Global Credit Union Arena, but the Rams ultimately won 25–19, 15–25, 26–24, 25–22.

Despite the loss to last season's conference champions, the Lopes had multiple standout performances across the lineup.

Freshman opposite Aubrey Bellus continued her early-season surge, leading the Lopes with 13 kills, eight blocks and 17.5 points on a .296 hitting percentage.

She provided several key swings in the second set that helped GCU even the match at one set apiece, and her front-row presence led the team in total blocks.

"I'm just trying to bring positive energy," Bellus said. "I hope that radiates to other people. For me, I'm going to try to do my job, and when people mess up their job, it's my job to help them reset, and we move to the next ball."

Freshman opposite Ana Jaramazovic was effective on both sides of the ball.

The Serbian recorded eight kills on a .412 hitting percentage while adding four blocks.

"AJ (Jaramazavic) has been doing really well throughout the past couple weeks leading into this weekend, building trust and showing what she's capable of when she's in," GCU head coach Kendra Potts said. "Her block alone definitely makes hitters want to do something different than what they're comfortable with. I thought she did just that against both Wyoming and Colorado State, making their outsides a little uncomfortable. I loved that today we were able to get her the ball offensively later in the match to create some new options.

"Bellus was doing well, Colorado State made some adjustments against her, and I'm glad we had an answer with AJ."

Freshman setter/opposite Bella Nunez stuffed the stat sheet with nine kills, 18 assists, 14 digs and two aces while hitting .286.

Her versatility again showed as she factored into every phase of the offense, including a stretch in the second set where she served back-to-back aces to push the Lopes' lead to double digits.

GCU junior outside hitter Sofia Österdahl provided steady production from the pin with eight kills, a block and two digs.

"She's very purposeful and mindful about what needs to be applied," Potts said. "We just need to give her more opportunities to find control in out-of-system situations. I was excited to see her grow in that area and be able to extend points. Regardless of results, we see these girls trending upward across all positions, and I'm really proud of how they're applying."

Lopes senior outside hitter Anaelena Ramirez added seven kills and five blocks, while fellow returner Taylor Kubacak distributed 22 assists and added 12 digs at setter.

GCU hit .206 and out blocked Colorado State 15–7.

After dropping the first set, GCU dominated the second set 25–15 with a highly efficient .440 hitting percentage.

The third set saw a late Colorado State run to overcome the deficit GCU had built. The Lopes showed resilience before the Rams closed the set.

A late GCU fourth-set run was rejected by Colorado State when the Rams closed on a 3-0 run to win the set 25-22.

Grand Canyon returns to action Thursday with the first road match of the conference season at UNLV.

"Sometimes the road is great because there is less distraction," Potts said. "You're on a business trip. You get to practice, lock in on film and just be together. I'm excited to get lost with the team and focus on nothing else but the match we have Thursday. I think the road trip is going to be great for us."