Williams hits 1K, Nunez gets triple-double in loss

Saturday, September 12

Flagstaff, Ariz.

11 a.m.

Grand Canyon

5-4,0-0Mountain West

Omaha

5-3,0-0Summit League

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Omaha	28	15	25	13	15	3
Grand Canyon	26	25	22	25	12	2

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

9/12/2026 2:30:00 PM | Volleyball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU outhits Omaha .297-.224 before losing in 5 sets

By: Paul Coro

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The story on the sets scoreboard for Grand Canyon's Saturday match differed from what the points scoreboard and the hitting percentages were telling for an unfilling close to the Lumberjack Classic.

Despite outscoring Omaha by 14 points and outhitting the Mavericks .297-.224, GCU's three-match winning streak ended with a 26-28, 25-15, 25-22, 25-13, 15-12 loss to Omaha at Rolle Activity Center in Flagstaff.

The Lopes trailed 2-1 in the match before crushing the Mavericks 25-13 in the fourth set and taking a 10-9 lead in the fifth set. But Omaha played some of its most efficient volleyball when it counted most with four kills and a block for a match-ending, 5-2 run.

"You take those two sets that we won out, and the three sets that we lost are glaring," GCU head coach Kendra Potts said. "We have a lot of positive things that we can take away from the weekend, but we've got to be able to defend off of our serve. We're letting teams sideout on us a little bit too quick. It's a game of inches, and I think if we could've pulled through a couple inches here or there on our block or defense, the outcome could've been different.

"We're never going to move on from a win without getting great lessons. We're learning that we can be a very, very competitive team. We don't have a lot of things that are glaring. We have a couple. We're trending in the right direction still.":

The loss took some of the shine off bright moments for GCU players.

Fifth-year opposite Katie Schulz recorded her highest three kills totals of the season in Flagstaff, ending with 17 kills on season-best .429 hitting Saturday.
Senior outside hitter Starr Williams reached 1,000 career kills with a 16-kill performance, her fourth consecutive match with double-digit kills and her second consecutive double-double because of her 17 digs.
Sophomore setter/opposite Bella Nunez recorded her first triple-double of the season (11 kills, 26 assists, 10 digs) after being third in the nation last season with nine triple-doubles as a freshman.

"This game, me and Macey (Hughes with seven kills) worked really hard on the back side," Nunez said. "We got it down, and it was fun."
Starr Williams

After ending Northern Arizona's 15-match home winning streack Friday night, the Saturday morning match began with a tight first set that was tied at 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 before Omaha closed out a 28-26 win.

The Lopes (5-4) bounced back big in the second set, when they hit .435 and scored the final five points for a 25-15 win that evened the match.

The seesaw continued with Omaha (5-3) going back ahead 2-1 when GCU could not hold onto a 19-16 lead that came with sophomore middle blocker Aubrey Bellus' consecutive kill and service ace and a Hughes kill off senior Bella Anderson's assist. Omaha called timeout at that stage and emerged with a 7-1 run that started with a service error and ended with back-to-back blocks. The Mavericks won the set 25-22 but its success was fleeting again.

What began as a tight fourth set blew open off Williams' serve with a dominant stretch by Schulz, who scored four consecutive points off two kills and two blocks. She relayed the hits to Hughes, whose five-kill set was a major contributor to the 25-13 score. The Lopes ended on a 7-1 run that included three consecutive kills by Williams.
Aubrey Bellus

The deciding set was tied at every point from 1-1 to 10-10 with alternating success until Omaha found the rhythm that put away a 15-12 fifth set just a day after GCU had won its first five-set match.

"It's how you can get out of holes faster, not necessarily how long you stay in the holes," Potts said. "We're going to move forward and get out of that little hole that we had faster."

The Lopes get a full week of practice at home before taking their final nonconference trip to Lawrence, Kansas, where they will play Ole Miss and host Kansas next week. GCU will open Mountain West play at Nevada on Sept. 24-25 and play their first MW home matches against Hawai'i on Oct. 2-3.

"We played good, and we played with heart," Nunez said. "We had runs. They had runs. They just had it at the wrong time. All of us completely believed in ourselves.

"It's a learning experience. We're really excited about going to Kansas. We just want to show out and play hard."