Lopes defeat Rebels in 4 on the road

Thursday, October 9

Las Vegas, Nev.

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

9-7,1-4Mountain West

UNLV

8-7,2-3Mountain West

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 12.0 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 offense with 17 kills on .400 hitting, adding three block assists for 18.5 points.

Potts highlighted Ramirez's impact.

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

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

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

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

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

Freshman oposite Ana Jaramazovic chipped in five kills on .308 with four blocks.

Sophomore setter Taylor Kubacak distributed 16 assists with two aces, including a high-pressure serving stint 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 12.0 total blocks and 52 digs.

Junior libero Bella Anderson posted 13 digs and 15 assists to steady first and second contact.

The Lopes trailed 3-2 early in the fourth before Nunez had back to back kills and a block to put the Lopes in front. A few point ater GCU went on a 6-0 run.

The Rebels inched back into the match with a 23-23 score late. A strong serve from Kubacak led to a block from Bellus and Ramirez before a Nunez kill would win the match for GCU.

Looking ahead, Potts emphasized process.

"We have to play one point at a time. 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."