GCU climbs standings with 4-set win at New Mexico - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Saturday, October 31

Albuquerque, N.M.

12 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

13-10,7-5Mountain West

New Mexico

9-13,7-5Mountain West

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Grand Canyon	25	22	26	25	3
New Mexico	22	25	24	13	1

Photo by: Nathan Peters

10/31/2026 4:27:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Lopes win 4th consecutive match; Bellus hits .500, delivers 3 aces in 2nd series road win over Lobos

By: Nathan Peters

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Grand Canyon volleyball moved up in the Mountain West standings Saturday with another balanced offensive performance and middle blocker Aubrey Bellus' dominant serving stretch that helped GCU defeat New Mexico 25-22, 22-25, 26-24, 25-13 at The Pit.

The Lopes (13-10, 7-5 Mountain West) completed a two-match road sweep of the Lobos, catching them in the conference standings and potentially moving as high as a four-way, second-place tie by the end of Saturday evening.

"That's what we're trying to do, as far as being able to turn a corner and make it what we do, not just a good day of play," GCU head coach Kendra Potts said of following up Thursday's sweep at New Mexico with a Saturday win there.

"I think it's coming together, even in tight moments. UNM had some really great moments. That fourth set could have gone either way. I think it was us just being able to stay calm in those big times, because we were doing that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It's coming together. I'm so very proud to see the kind of hard work they're putting in. They're getting results. We just stayed balanced all weekend."

In the Lopes' fourth consecutive win, Bellus delivered one of GCU's most efficient performances with nine kills to only one error on 16 attacks for a .500 hitting percentage. She added three aces, five total blocks and three digs.

Fifth-year opposite hitter Starr Williams led the Lopes with 13 kills and delivered three consecutive kills to erase a New Mexico set point and close the pivotal third set.

Junior middle blocker Aubrey Goodere added nine kills on .333 hitting and a team-high six blocks, while senior outside hitter Katie Schulz also finished with nine kills. Sophomore setter Bella Nunez contributed eight kills, 22 assists, 11 digs and four blocks, and sophomore opposite hitter Macey Hughes added seven kills on .250 hitting with four blocks.

GCU finished with 56 kills on .221 hitting while holding New Mexico to .155. The Lopes also held advantages of 7-3 in service aces and 11-5 in blocks.

Freshman defensive specialist Nika Županic led GCU's back row with 16 digs. Schulz added 12, Nunez recorded 11 and junior setter Taylor Kubacak finished with 10 to go along with 22 assists.

GCU established control early in the opening set.

After New Mexico scored the first point, the Lopes answered with five of the next six, including an ace from Županic and two Bellus kills.

GCU continued building its advantage and used consecutive blocks followed by a Nunez kill to stretch its lead to 16-8.

New Mexico worked its way back late, cutting the margin to 23-21, but GCU held off the push and Williams closed the 25-22 victory with a kill. The Lopes hit .282 with 16 kills in the opening set.

The second set developed into the closest of the match, going back and forth with 17 ties and nine lead changes.

Neither team led by more than two points through a 21-21 tie before New Mexico scored three straight to gain set point. Williams briefly kept GCU alive with a kill, but the Lobos answered on the next point to take the set 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.

Another tight finish followed in the third set.

GCU built an 11-5 lead before New Mexico responded and eventually tied at 13-13. Neither side was able to create lasting separation with the Lopes eventually moving ahead 23-21 on a Williams kill. But New Mexico responded with three straight points to earn set point at 24-23.

Williams took over from there.

The fifth-year Lope delivered three consecutive kills, tying on an assist from Kubacak before Nunez set the final two points for a 26-24 victory that gave the Lopes a 2-1 match lead.

GCU left little doubt in the fourth, using its serving pressure to turn an early deficit into a runaway finish.

New Mexico opened a 5-2 lead before GCU responded to tie at 5-5. After the Lopes moved ahead 7-6, they scored the next eight points to break the set open.

Bellus was at the center of the run from the service line.

After Goodere and Hughes combined on a block, Bellus delivered three aces during the surge that turned GCU's one-point lead into a 15-6 advantage.

The Lopes never allowed New Mexico back into the set.

Goodere and Nunez helped extend the margin before Bellus added another kill for a 20-11 advantage. Schulz later delivered consecutive kills, and Hughes finished the match with back-to-back kills for the 25-13 victory.

GCU hit .310 in the fourth while holding New Mexico to minus-.033 hitting with seven kills eight attack errors.

The Lopes return home for the next two weekends to host San José State (Thursday and Saturday) and UTEP (Nov. 12 and 14). The Miners, a first-year Mountain West member, are tied with GCU in the conference standings.