PHOENIX, Arizona – The Texans face a 2-2 conference record after a hard-fought battle to Grand Canyon.
In the match against the Lopes the Texans compiled 37 digs, 36 kills, 35 assists, three blocks, and five aces. Tarleton State has an overall record of 11-7 and are 2-2 in conference play after a 3-0 loss to Grand Canyon. GCU tallied 34 digs, 39 kills, 35 assists, eight blocks, eight aces. The Lopes are 11-4 overall and are undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 record. Grand Canyon has a seven-match sweep streak after the match against Tarleton State totaling 11 sweeps on the season.
Allison Bryant led the team with 14 kills on the match.
Madison Frank contributed seven kills and
Emma Burke laid down four for the Texans. Burke led the team with two service aces with
Grayson Schirpik,
Rajini Fitzmaurice and Bryant each adding an ace for Tarleton State.
Frank had two total blocks to lead the defense while Burke and Schirpik tallied one each.
Megan Hodges saw 17 assists to lead the team and
Charlize Ching compiled 10 assists for the match.
Matti Theurer saw 15 digs to lead the Purple and White while
Isabel Gonzaba contributed seven digs as well.
In the first set, Tatum Parrott tallied the first point for GCU with a kill. The Texans replied with back-to-back kills from
Breanna McDonough and Fitzmaurice to give the Purple and White the lead. Parrott quickly responded with another kill for Grand Canyon to tie the match until an attack error from Tarleton State followed by the first service ace from the Lopes put GCU up, 4-2. Point 10 for Grand Canyon came from Trista Strasser, but the Texans saw a three-score run with two kills from Burke and a kill from Bryant to take the lead for Tarleton State by one. The Lopes turned up the heat and saw eight consecutive points with three aces and four kills to see 18-11 on the board. Bryant and Burke put down two kills for the Texans in an effort to close the gap, but GCU replied with two kills of their own to make the score 20-15. Ashley Lifgren saw the 21
st point for Grand Canyon and Bryant matched the energy with her fifth kill of set. The Lopes saw two back-to-back points with a kill and a block from Strasser. The Purple and White saw three points with two kills from Frank and an ace from Bryant to see a 19-23 score. After an attack error from Tarleton State, Grand Canyon tallied the set point with a block from Strasser to end the stanza.
GCU saw the first point to kick off the second set, but Burke replied with a kill to even the score for the Texans. After an error from Tarleton State and a kill from Alissa Uhlenhop, the Lopes were up 3-1. A service error from Grand Canyon followed by a block from McDonough and Frank tied the set. A couple of errors from the Purple and White accompanied by two kills from GCU saw the Lopes up 7-3. For the remainder of the set, Grand Canyon held the lead. Each team consistently laid down kill after kill. Bryant and Frank put up the final points for Tarleton State. GCU saw a six-run score to end the set, 25-17.
In the third and final set, the Texans were first on the board after an error from Grand Canyon. The Lopes saw five consecutive points consisting of two kills, one ace and a couple of errors from Tarleton State to see the Texans down by five. Tarleton State replied with kills from Frank and Bryant and an ace from Burke followed by an error from the Lopes to close the gap to a one-point deficit. An error from the Purple and White followed by a block and kill from Strasser saw the Lopes up by four until Bryant laid down another kill. Grand Canyon held the lead for the remainder of the stanza. Several kills and errors from both sides saw each team add to the board but consistent short scoring runs from GCU ultimately gave the Lopes the upper hand. The Texans closed the gap with two kills from Bryant and a kill from Frank to tally three points for the Purple and White, reflecting a score of 18-23. An attack error from Grand Canyon tallied the final point for Tarleton State but the GCU defense closed out the game with a 25-19 final.
Texan Volleyball will be back in action at home on Oct. 5 to take on Utah Tech at 6 p.m. The Purple and White will continue their run in Wisdom Volleyball Gym on Oct. 7 with a 1 p.m. match time against Southern Utah. Both matches van be viewed on ESPN+.
