Seeing gold again.
Just not as much as they would've liked.
After being unable to reach higher than the third bracket during last year's nationals run, the
Grand Canyon University Women's Club Volleyball team reached the Gold Championship Bracket of the 2024 National Club Volleyball Federation National Championships in Kansas City, Missouri, before being eliminated in its first match in the bracket by North Carolina State University in three sets, 25-17, 18-25, 12-15. The ascension to the top bracket of the tournament marked a return to form for the Lopes, who had their run of two straight NCVF national titles snapped last year.
Despite seeing her team have to play in the open division of the Southern California Collegiate Volleyball League Conference Championships last month because they didn't qualify for the higher brackets, it wasn't a surprise for
Lopes' Head Coach Kris Naber to see her squad burst out of the gates in Kansas City in commanding fashion. In two of their three pool-play matches Thursday, the Lopes spotted both San Jose State University and the University of Central Florida the first set, but then showed the closing power that Naber was hoping for in taking the last two sets both times – even going extras in the 3
rd set with UCF before prevailing, 16-14. The Lopes also allowed Rutgers University to battle back from a set down in their other pool-play match, but outlasted the Scarlet Knights, 15-12, in Set 3 to move to Friday's Championship Bracket unscathed.
The Lopes began Friday's bracket play with the same mojo as the day before, never letting the University of Alabama get rolling in a 25-14, 25-16 sweep. Then GCU ran into a buzzsaw as eventual tournament quarterfinalist University of Virginia tagged the Lopes with a 25-11, 25-18 defeat. Nevertheless, the Lopes' 4-1 mark earned them a spot in the Gold Bracket Saturday morning, where once again, they started the morning quickly with a 25-17 win in the first set over the Wolfpack before N.C. State recovered to end the Lopes' run.
"I've known all along what this group of girls was capable of, so it was exciting to not just see it come together but see their resilience towards the adversity from earlier in the year pay off," said Naber. "They proved to themselves that they could compete and win at a high level and in pressure situations. Their chemistry and acceptance – on and off the court – is definitely something to build on for the future."
Lopes' sophomore right-side hitter
Laila Briscoe (.325) and freshman outside hitter
Rachel Piluski (.275) led the team in hitting percentage during the tournament. The Lopes' 4-2 showing in Missouri ends their 2023-24 season with an overall mark of 10-10.
