Lopes sweep Penn State for 250th program win

Saturday, March 8

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

10-5,0-2MPSF

Penn State

5-9,2-2EIVA

Penn St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Luke Greenwall

3/8/2025 9:03:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Consistent play puts GCU back in win column

By: Nathan Peters

The Grand Canyon men's volleyball team returned to Global Credit Union Arena for the first of four matches, sweeping No. 19 Penn State in under two hours Saturday night.

The Lopes' offense was efficient, hitting .343 for the match while controlling play with strong runs in each set for the 25-15, 25-12, 25-22 win.

One of the key factors was GCU junior outside hitter Trent Moser, who led all players with 11 kills on .381 hitting. Lopes freshman middle blocker Trevell Jordan provided additional firepower, finishing with eight kills on a blistering .538 clip. Junior setter Jaxon Herr paced the GCU offense with 25 assists while adding three blocks.

"We have not been consistent on second out-of-system ball contacts, so it's been a struggle in close games for us to get swings at important moments when we're out of system, and we really worked a lot on that in the gym, and I thought there was drastic improvement for us there," Lopes coach Bryan Dell'Amico said. "We were able to get some swings out of system, so that helped us score when we needed to, and then our triple block tonight was just really good and consistent. If we weren't blocking the ball, we were getting touches or they were roll-shotting over the top of us because they got frustrated."

The first set remained tight early before GCU broke away with a 6-1 run behind kills from Moser and graduate opposite Jarrett Anderson. A late 5-0 surge, fueled by two aces from Anderson, secured the 25-15 win. Anderson finished with seven kills.

GCU (10-5) kept rolling in the second set, jumping out to a quick lead with a 4-0 burst that included a service ace from senior middle blocker Cole Duncanson. Later in the set, the Lopes strung together six unanswered points, capped by a block from Herr and Jordan, to claim a dominant 25-12 win.

"I thought we were consistent," Lopes coach Jon Girten said. "I think we've been really good in moments, and we've been really bad in moments. Today, it was just steady. I felt like we were really composed the whole match."

The final set saw Penn State battle back, but GCU used a 4-0 spurt late to take control. After the Nittany Lions tied it at 22-22, the Lopes responded with clutch plays, sealing the match on a kill from Anderson for a 26-24 win.

GCU's defensive presence was key, with senior libero Cooper Herndon leading the way with a match-high seven digs.

Jordan was a force at the net, finishing with a match-best five blocks.

The Lopes also pressured Penn State from the service line, recording eight aces, including three each from Anderson and Karter Rogers.

"Tomorrow, we need to keep the ball up and keep the ball in," Girten said. "We did a good job of that from the service line tonight. We did a good job of that on defense, so if we can set a tone of that early, I think that'll bode well for us."

With the win Saturday, the Lopes have reached 250 program wins dating back to 2009.

GCU returns Sunday for the second match against Penn State at 4 p.m. in the Global Credit Union Arena.

"Our focus today was to get off to a good start," Dell'Amico said. "We have been getting behind early, so we're chasing the game the whole time. I think tomorrow it's especially important if we can jump out quick like we did tonight, we will put pressure back on them."