"12 schools get to compete for three bids to nationals. It's always ultracompetitive."
The GCU Club Roundnet team made a historic trip to Los Angeles, California for the Spikeball Roundnet Association Southwest College Sectional, beating host UCLA, 2-1, to grab 3rd place in the tournament. More importantly, it earned the Lopes a trip to SRA Nationals for the first time ever in Raleigh, North Carolina next month.
To advance in the tournament, GCU's competition squad needed to have at least two of three teams win their matchup per round. GCU's squad was composed of three teams. Their top duo, Team A, was comprised of freshman Ryan McCargar and senior Dylan Bricker, Team B featured sophomore Tayt Rogers and senior (and Lopes' Student Coach) Aiden Mackey, and Team C included freshman Jackson Blackburn and senior Reese Anderson.
Starting hot, the GCU squad swept their first four pool-play opponents: Northern Arizona University, UCLA, Pepperdine University and University of California Berkeley. In the final match of pool play, the Lopes fell to California Polytechnic State University, whom they would see again later.
In the ensuing quarterfinals, GCU drew San Diego State as their first-round opponent, and the B team quickly won their matchup, while the A and C teams each split, forcing Game 3 situations. Only needing one of the two teams to win to advance, GCU got an impressive performance from Blackburn and Anderson of the C team, who beat SDSU, 21-6, in the final game. Blackburn rattled off a streak of nine straight ace serves, tallying 15 aces.
In the semifinal round, GCU had to face off against a familiar opponent: Cal Poly. The Lopes' B team again swept their opponent, but the A and C teams both lost, sending the Lopes to the third-place match.
"The third-place match might be the most intense of the tournament," said Mackey. "With the winner taking home the last bid to the national tournament, you see teams give it their all."
This time around, the A team swept their opponent, finishing off UCLA in two games. The B and C teams both lost their first game, meaning one of the two teams would have to win two-straight to send the entire squad to nationals. The B team did just that, overcoming a four-point deficit late in their second game, then closed out their third game, 21-17.
"Nationals is looking promising. We barely lost to Cal Poly, who is ranked 4th in the nation," said Bricker. "I believe a top-5 finish is doable, and if everyone is at the top of their game in June, we could even find the podium."
The Lopes head to North Carolina for nationals beginning June 25.
