Lopes defeat No. 12 LSU at Death Valley

Friday, March 20

Baton Rouge, La.

9:45 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Florida State

Photo by: Nathan Peters

3/20/2026 8:30:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

GCU grab 1st top-15 win of season in pivotal match

By: Nathan Peters

BATON ROUGE, La. — No. 16 Grand Canyon split a pair of matches Friday, closing the day with a signature 3-2 win over No. 12 LSU after opening with a 4-1 loss to Florida State.

The Lopes earned their highest-ranked win of the season by taking three of five courts against the Tigers, rallying behind wins at the 2, 3 and 4 pairs on LSU's courts.

After LSU secured the first point of the dual match at No. 5, GCU responded as sophomore Youna Coens and junior Isabelle Tucker evened the dual with a 15-21, 21-18, 15-10 victory at No. 4.

The win marks Tucker's first since becoming a Lope after battling back from injuries. She made a wild play when she jumped over a court barrier, passed over the net, got back onto the court and won the point with Coens.

GCU junior Rhea Kohl and sophomore partner Mae Manthe then gave GCU the lead with a 21-17, 21-16 win at No. 3 before Lopes junior Sarah Edler and senior Katie Keefe clinched the match in dramatic fashion at No. 2, winning 21-23, 22-20, 15-13.

LSU won in the third set at No. 1, but GCU already had secured the tightly contested dual featuring four three-set matches.

Earlier in the day, GCU fell 4-1 to No. 4 Florida State despite pushing multiple courts to three sets.

Manthe and Kohl provided the Lopes' lone point against the Seminoles with a 23-21, 21-16 win at No. 3.

Florida State claimed the remaining courts, including three-set victories at Nos. 1, 4 and 5 to seal the dual. The Lopes responded from the opening loss with a resilient performance against LSU, highlighted by three comeback wins and the final match's clinching effort.

The Lopes will conclude the Death Volley Invitational with two matches Saturday, when they face No. 4 Texas before playing Georgia State for the final match of the weekend.