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 10-3-07
GCU efficient in 3-1 win over BYU-Hawaii
for 1st PacWest victory
Antelopes
assistant coach Melanie Beem called it the night
before.
She called
that her Grand Canyon volleyball team would take
care of business Wednesday night. That they did
in beating BYU-Hawaii 30-26, 28-30, 33-31, 30-26
for the ’Lopes
first PacWest win of the year in Antelope Gym.
Beem me
up for a win, you might say.
Grand Canyon
(4-11, 1-3 PacWest) was as efficient as it has
been all year, taking the blows from a team that
kept coming at the Antelopes for two straight
nights. But as the case has been, GCU solved
the opponent’s riddle the second time
around.
“It
seemed like every single person on the bench wanted the win more than every
one on the other team,” GCU sophomore hitter Whitney Estes said following
a 17-kill, 2-block, six-dig performance.
And notching
that first league win was enough to whet the
appetite.
“It
feels phenomenal,” Estes said.
Grand Canyon
hit .333 as a team, blasting 72 kills, and picked
up 57 digs. Setter Audra Slemmer had a season-best
61 assists while three hitters pounded double
figure kills.
Sophomore
hitter Dana Edington had 23 kills and eight digs,
and Shea Robinson added 16 kills and four blocks.
Slemmer had 11 digs, and Katie Meyers 14.
BYU (6-6,
3-2) led 27-26 in Game 3 following LeeAnn Mapu’s quick-set kill. But
GCU junior hitter Shauna Nieman’s kill pushed the ’Lopes in front
29-28. BYU’s Noelle Filimoeatu pounded a kill to tie it at 31-31, but
GCU claimed the last two points to take a 2-1 match lead.
“I
think tonight that they weren’t satisfied with losing in five,” Antelopes
coach Kris Naber said. “Not that they were ever satisfied with losing
in five. Coming from behind and winning 33-31, no matter how far you’re
behind, tells you we can win.
“I
think a lot of it has to do with confidence. This was basically a new team
coming into the season. It took us this long to figure it out.”
But the
Antelopes have figured it out lately. The key
now is stringing a couple wins together. It’s a vow the ’Lopes have made internally.
“Every
conference match from here on out is a win,” Edington said, verbalizing
a pact her teammates have made with each other.
And it doesn’t
hurt when you’ve got a crowd that adds that little extra spice as the
Lopes Loonies did Wednesday night.
“Let’s
go freakin’ mental … let’s go freakin’ mental,” the
Lope fans shouted as the match wore on with the Seasiders preparing to serve.
One thing
is for sure, if the Antelopes mental game is
together, they can be a dangerous team for any
opponent.
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