Lopes deliver win in 4 at Air Force

Thursday, October 15

USAF Academy, Colo.

5 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

9-9,3-4Mountain West

Air Force

6-12,2-5Mountain West

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Grand Canyon	25	16	25	27	3
Air Force	22	25	22	25	1

Starr and lopes celebrate after clinching the match

Photo by: Nathan Peters

10/15/2026 9:06:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Williams' 25 kills lead balanced Lopes effort; Schulz, Bellus, Hughes make key contributions

By: Nathan Peters

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Grand Canyon volleyball won its second consecutive Mountain West match Thursday night, defeating Air Force 25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 27-25 at Cadet East Gym..

The Lopes improved to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in Mountain West play behind another big night from fifth-year opposite hitter Starr Williams, who finished with 25 kills on .347 hitting and nine digs. Williams followed setting a GCU Division I-era five-set record with 30 kills against UNLV on Saturday.

GCU hit .214 with 58 kills, while Air Force hit .235. The Lopes saved their best offensive set for the fourth, hitting .326 with 19 kills to finish the match.

Lopes senior outside hitter Katie Schulz joined Williams in double figures with 12 kills on .257 hitting. Sophomore middle blocker Aubrey Bellus added seven kills for GCU on .385 hitting, while sophomore opposite hitter Macey Hughes also finished with seven kills.

The opening set remained tight through a 12-12 tie before GCU made the first significant push.

Williams started a four-point stretch with a kill before Schulz and Bellus helped the Lopes build a 16-12 advantage. Air Force twice trimmed the deficit to two, but GCU continued finding answers.

Sophomore setter Bella Nunez put down a kill for a 21-18 lead before Williams followed with another to make it 22-18. The Falcons fought off two set points to pull within 24-22, but an Air Force service error finished the 25-22 GCU victory.

The Falcons responded with their strongest offensive performance of the night in the second set.

Air Force broke from a 4-4 tie with a 6-1 stretch to open a 10-5 advantage. The Falcons hit .484 with 17 kills and only two errors in the set, stretching their lead to 20-12 before closing the 25-16 win to even the match.

GCU headd coach Kendra Potts credited her team's ability to make changes as the match developed.

"We made some adjustments at key moments," Potts said. "Although Air Force was doing things that they're good at and kind of knocking us out in certain areas, I was really proud of the adjustments we made, especially in the third and fourth sets."

GCU answered in the third set despite having to work from behind again.

Air Force held a 15-13 advantage midway through the set, but the Lopes responded with four consecutive points that included two Williams kills.

Hughes also became an important part of GCU's response as the Lopes worked to create more balance offensively.

"Macey just made small adjustments with our offense and was able to be a key factor offensively," Potts said. "That was huge for us because we needed to balance ourselves out."

Neither side created significant separation late into the pivotal third set. Air Force eventually pulled even at 22-22 before Williams took over.

Williams delivered consecutive kills to give GCU a 24-22 lead before Bellus helped the Lopes finish the set for a 25-22 victory and a 2-1 match advantage.

Williams' impact went beyond her offense. In addition to her 25 kills and nine digs, Potts pointed to the fifth-year Lope's defensive work in key moments.

"Her off-blocker defense and just protecting the middle of our floor was huge," Potts said. "She had some key block touches and key block shutdowns in big moments. That's how you win games that close, when you make the plays in those moments. I'm super proud of her, and we're seeing what she's capable of."

The fourth set developed into the closest of the night.

GCU trailed 15-13 before freshman middle blocker Kaela Jenkins helped spark a five-point run. Williams tied the set at 15-15, and the Lopes continued the surge to move ahead 18-15.

Air Force erased the advantage and moved in front 21-20, but Williams answered with a kill. Schulz later pulled GCU even at 22-22 before the Falcons reached set point at 24-23.

GCU denied the opportunity before Air Force earned another set point at 25-24. Schulz responded with a kill to tie the set for the final time at 25-25.

The senior then stepped to the service line and delivered an ace to give GCU match point.

"We've been talking about her serve for a while now and just being able to keep the thought process simple," Potts said of Schulz. "For her to be able to serve the last two points, one with an ace and one with knocking them out, is just huge growth. It's great to see the girls apply it in a game because it's stuff we talk about every single day at practice."

Schulz's ensuing serve put Air Force under pressure before Williams finished the match with her 25th kill for the 27-25 victory.

Williams accounted for eight kills in the fourth set as GCU put down 19 kills with only five attack errors.

Nunez finished with 24 assists, nine digs and six kills, while junior setter Taylor Kubacak added 20 assists and eight digs.

Senior libero Bella Anderson led the Lopes defensively with 18 digs and added five assists. Williams and Nunez each recorded nine digs, while Kubacak had eight.

The Lopes will play at Air Force again Friday at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time).