Grand Canyon won its third straight match, second straight over
New Jersey Institute of Technology, at Grand Canyon University
Arena Saturday.
GCU beat NJIT 3-1 with set scores of 25-23, 25-19, 23-25,
29-27.
“It was good that our young guys learned you have to play all
the time, not some of the time, not half of the time,” said
GCU coach Jeremy Price. “(NJIT) had just played a five-set
match (with UC San Diego) right before this and when we were up
2-0, we were the team that looked fatigued in the third
set.”
After 12 ties and seven fourth-set lead changes, GCU solidified the
final set on a kill from freshman middle Ryan
Mather, who had five kills on 11 attacks in the final two
sets.
Sophomore outside hitter Ben
Ponnet had a match-best 18 kills. Junior hitter Jordon
Tarantino finished with 17 and sophomore middle hitter
Christopher
Lockwood, in the starting lineup for the first time since
2010, had an impressive performance with 12 kills on 18 tries, with
only three errors for a .500 average.
“It was nice to have Chris Lockwood back in the starting
lineup for the first time in a long time,” said Price.
GCU battled back from three set points in the fourth. A Lockwood
kill tied it at 25 and a Mather-Tarantino block followed a NJIT
service error for a 27-26 lead. The Highlanders tied it before a
Tarantino kill proceeded Mather’s match-winner.
“At this point in the season, we’re judging not just by
wins and losses, though those are the most important, but
we’re seeing some improvement and we’re seeing some
inconsistencies,” added Price.
One of the consistent has been a strong effort blocking. GCU has
had 14.5 or more blocks, including a season-high 16 Saturday, in
four of five matches. It had over 11.5 only once all last
season.
“We put a lot of emphasis on blocking in the fall,”
Price said. “It’s starting to pay off, but we can still
get better.”
Mather had one solo block and eight block assists. Setter Keith
Smith had eight block assists, as well. Tarantino and
Lockwood each had four block assists. Ponnet and Ben
Hunt both had three.
Mather’s nine total blocks are tied for second for most by a
‘Lope in a single match. In 2010, Lockwood had 11 in one
contest.
Smith added 51 assists on 54 kills. Libero Trent
Bruns had a team-high 11 digs.
Grand Canyon will finish its homestand with a 2 p.m. Sunday contest
at GCU Arena against UC San Diego, which knocked off No. 11
Hawai’i earlier in the season. The Tritons beat NJIT in
five-sets Saturday.
All the action from Sunday's contest can be seen courtesy of the AmericaOne
Network. Live
stats will also be available on GCULopes.com.