Lopes split Saturday matches, sweep Georgia State

Saturday, March 21

Baton Rouge, La.

8:30 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Texas

Photo by: Nathan Peters

3/21/2026 4:11:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

Despite dropping close match to No. 4 Texas, GCU ends Death volley Invitational on high-note

By: Nathan Peters

BATON ROUGE, La. — Grand Canyon split its Saturday matches, falling 3-2 to Texas before responding with a 5-0 sweep of Georgia State.

In the morning match, the Lopes battled in a tightly contested dual against No. 4 Texas that came down to the final courts.

The Longhorns secured the early advantage with straight-set wins on Court 5 and Court 4 to take a 2-0 lead.

Texas clinched the dual on Court 2, where Katie Keefe and Sarah Edler fell in tightly contested straight sets.

GCU answered with two pair victories. On Court 1, Karynn Garrow and Becca Drake earned a 21-13, 21-18 win over Texas' top pair.

The final match to finish came on Court 3, where Rhea Kohl and Mae Manthe closed the dual with a three-set victory (21-15, 19-21, 15-9), but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit.

The Lopes rebounded emphatically against Georgia State, sweeping all five courts in a 5-0 victory.

GCU struck first on Court 5, where Jessica Drake and Jordyn Decker won in straight sets to set the tone. The lead grew to 2-0 after a three-set comeback on Court 4 by Youna Coens and Isabelle Tucker (18-21, 21-15, 15-10).

Rhea Kohl and Mae Manthe extended the advantage with a straight-set win on Court 3, before Keefe and Edler secured the clinching point on Court 2 with a 23-21, 21-19 victory.

Garrow and Drake capped the sweep on Court 1 with a 21-16, 21-16 win to complete the dominant outing.

Manthe and Kohl had a phenomenal weekend, going 4-0 against elite competition all in the threes.

The Lopes will have a bye week before the Sparky Invitational hosted by Arizona State on April 3rd and April 4th.