TEMPE, Ariz.— Grand Canyon went into today’s matchup against Milwaukee with a lot of momentum following a reverse-sweep victory over Pepperdine on Thursday.
It’s safe to say that the momentum was in full effect on Friday afternoon.
The Lopes swept the Panthers in three sets to secure their second consecutive victory in the Sun Devil Classic.
Coach Kendra Potts’ team fought hard and overcame a 2-0 deficit against Pepperdine in the Sun Devil Classic on Thursday and won 3-2, including a 15-12 victory in the fifth set.
In Friday’s matchup, the Lopes had the advantage in nearly every statistical category. Racking up 38 kills, 36 set assists, eight aces, and seven blocks on the day.
Senior outside hitter Anaelena Ramirez led GCU with 10 kills. Graduate middle blocker Hayden Goodman had nine kills on 12 attacks, with a hit percentage of .750, which led the Lopes.
Sophomore setter Taylor Kubacak led GCU with 20 assists in the game, and freshman setter Bella Nunez had 12 assists. Nunez totaled three kills on the day, but she also led the Lopes in errors with four.
For the Panthers, senior outside hitter Natalie Schmitz led the team in kills with 11, and freshman middle blocker Josie Noble racked up seven kills, which was good for second-best on the team.
Senior setter Josie Johnson led Milwaukee with 14 assists, and senior libero Kara Erdmann led the club with 12 digs.
Coach Susie Johnson’s squad would finish with 33 kills on the day, but only had two service aces and three blocks.
The first set was tightly contested, as both teams went blow-for-blow with each other. The set was tied at 16 before GCU went on a 6-0 run, where coach Johnson called both of her timeouts and the Panthers committed four consecutive attack errors.
Milwaukee would fight back, but a kill by Nunez that Kubacak assisted would seal the first set for the Lopes, giving them a 1-0 lead.
The second set would begin with GCU taking a 4-0 lead before the Panthers went on a 6-2 run to tie it at six.
After Milwaukee took an 8-7 lead, the Lopes would go on a 4-0 run, capped by an attack error by Noble, which prompted Johnson to take a timeout.
After the Panthers cut the lead to 13-11, GCU would go on a 9-2 run that included three kills by Ramirez. The Lopes now led 22-13 and were three points away from taking the second set.
Milwaukee would go on a 3-1 run afterward that included kills by Noble and Schmitz, a kill by junior outside hitter Sofia Osterdahl, and an ace by junior libero Bella Anderson, making it 2-0 for GCU.
The Panthers were now hoping that they could find that magic that the Lopes were able to find on Thursday.
Milwaukee got off to a better start in the third set as they took an 8-6 lead. Schmitz had three kills to start the set, and freshman outside hitter Ella Schuetz added two kills as well.
However, Potts’ squad would once again take control of the set as the Lopes would go on an 8-2 run to take a 14-10 lead. During the run, Goodman notched three kills, and the Panthers had three attack errors.
Milwaukee would cut the lead down to 16-13, which featured kills by Schmitz and Noble, but the Lopes would once again go on another run that seemingly put the set, and the match, out of reach for the Panthers.
GCU went on a 5-0 run with two aces by Anderson and a kill by freshman opposite hitter Macey Hughes. Putting the Lopes up 21-13 and on the precipice of a sweep.
But coach Johnson’s team wouldn’t go down without a fight. Milwaukee went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 23-18. The Panthers had four kills on that run, two by Scmitz and one by junior middle blocker Bella Lipski and freshman opposite hitter Sam Vanda.
However, Ramirez added a kill from Kubacak to set up a match point. On the following serve, Goodman served the ball, and junior defensive specialist Kati Goba dove but couldn’t keep it alive, securing the win for GCU.
It’s now the sixth consecutive set win for the Lopes, adding on to the reverse sweep they had against Pepperdine.
GCU now moves to 8-2 on the season and is 2-0 in the Sun Devil Classic. Their biggest challenge awaits tomorrow, as they play No. 8 Arizona State Saturday to conclude their play in the Sun Devil Classic at 5 p.m. MST.
As for Milwaukee, the search for its first win continues, as it drops to 0-11 on the season. The Panthers will play Pepperdine tomorrow at 2 p.m. MST in their second game of the Sun Devil Classic.