Lopes close regular season with thrilling 5-set victory

Friday, April 18

Stanford, Calif.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

17-9,6-6MPSF

Stanford

11-14,4-8MPSF

Grand Canyon

Stanford

Photo by: Nathan Peters

Lopes close regular season with thrilling 5-set victory

4/18/2025 9:44:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

GCU's gutsy win fueld by depth on road, puts team at 17-9

By: Nathan Peters

STANFORD, Calif. – In a back-and-forth battle at Maples Pavilion, Grand Canyon secured a critical five-set win over Stanford on Friday evening, taking the match 20-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 15-8.

After a wild five-set match Thursday, it seemed unlikely Friday's match would be more entertaining, but the Lopes (17-9, 6-6 MPSF) provided an encore for a victory that secured sixth place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Stanford (11-14, 4-8 MPSF) opened the night with a blistering offensive rhythm, hitting .538 in the first set and using a balanced attack led by Moses Wagner and Theo Snoey to jump ahead and win the set 25-20 on a GCU service error.

The Lopes flipped momentum in the second frame with cleaner execution, hitting .421 with 10 kills and just two errors on 19 swings. GCU built a 10-7 lead behind a couple of Stanford attack errors and a kill by freshman setter Kyle Zediker. Stanford briefly closed the gap, but GCU pulled away for a 25-18 win.

The third set saw a reversal as GCU struggled with consistency. The Lopes hit just .231 while committing five errors, allowing Stanford to capitalize. The Cardinal led 19-15 after a service error. Despite a late kill from graduate opposite Jarrett Anderson, Stanford closed the set 25-21 to reclaim a 2-1 match lead.

With its back against the wall, GCU delivered an impressive performance in the fourth. The Lopes hit .375 with 12 kills and just three errors. At 15-15, they were able to find a 5-2 run made up of kills by senior middle blocker Cole Duncanson and junior outside hitter Cole Ottmar kill and forcing Stanford errors. The Lopes held Stanford to .194 hitting in the frame and used late kills from freshman middle blocker Braedon Marquardt and Ottmar to clinch the set 25-19, forcing a second straight five-set night.

In the decisive fifth, GCU's depth and energy took over, as it hit .412 while limiting Stanford to .000. After a 6-5 lead, the Lopes rattled off five of the next seven points with contributions from Anderson, Duncanson and Ottmar. An Anderson kill in the clutch stretched the lead before consecutive Cardinal errors clinched the match with a 15-8 set.

Anderson had 11 kills on a .450 clip with six digs, two blocks and two service aces.

GCU outhit Stanford .358 to .277 and totaled 52 kills. Moser led the Lopes with 15 kills. Duncanson contributed eight kills without an error (.667) and had a match-high six blocks. Marquardt was efficient at the net (.700) and added a service ace.

Zediker dished out 45 assists, a career high, while also adding six digs and three kills.

Lopes sophomore libero Matthew Thornton had a team-high 10 digs.

"We got a lot of contributions from a lot of guys," GCU coach Jon Girten said. "Otty (Ottmar) was huge in the fourth and fifth sets. Trent carried the load for us for a long time, and then when we needed him to really step up and kind of put a couple of balls away, Jerry (Anderson) was all over that fifth set. Overall, just a really gutsy, really big team win."

The Lopes will head to the MPSF Tournament in Malibu, California, next week. Seeding will be determined by a vote of conference coaches,

"I think we've got a ton of confidence," Girten said. "The team feels great that if one guy doesn't have it going, we've got guys that can fill in and get the job done. We've had four outsides throughout the season all produce. We've had multiple opposites, multiple setters. I think the depth of this group has really shown, especially throughout this last month. So I think we feel really confident about the overall vibe of the team and just our collective strengths."