No. 13 BYU falls 3-1 to No. 9 Grand Canyon in Cougars' MPSF opener

PROVO, Utah — No. 13 BYU men’s volleyball dropped its sixth straight match as the No. 9 Grand Canyon Antelopes took down the Cougars 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 19-25, 22-25) on Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

“Whether we win or lose, we are always going to learn from games like this,” said BYU outside hitter Miks Ramanis. "We are going to grow, become a better team and enjoy the season. Unfortunately, it is the little errors that are killing us right now, so we just need to lock in and make sure the small plays count. We need to come back tomorrow, keep going, re-focus and get ready for our next game.”

The starting lineup featured head coach Shawn Olmstead’s 11th variation in 13 matches, as the Cougars rebuild after losing five starters from last season. Starters included senior outside hitter Davide Gardini, senior opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue, sophomore setter Bartosz Slawinski, sophomore middle blocker Gavin Julien, senior libero Mitchel Worthington, freshman middle blocker Teon Taylor and Ramanis.

The Cougars hit .310 for the match, recording 48 kills on 100 swings and tallied four service aces in the match. The Antelopes carded 59 kills on a .412 clip and matched BYU with four service aces of their own. GCU recorded 32 digs to BYU’s 18 and finished with 9.5 blocks, two more that the Cougars' 7.5.

Gardini hit .600 for the match, leading BYU with 15 kills on 25 swings. Ramanis followed with 14 kills on a .290 clip.

SET ONE
GCU laid the first kill of the night, but Gardini managed a kill off the block to square the first set at 1-1 off the hop. The Cougars scored four of the next five points, including an ace by Ah Sue, taking a 5-2 lead.

Kills by Julien and Ramanis, followed by a Taylor ace, allowed BYU to propel ahead. However, GCU’s Christian Janke added two kills of his own, keeping the Antelopes at bay at 8-5. From there, the teams strung together errors, trading points. Another kill by Julien extended BYU’s lead to six points at 13-7.

The Cougars and Antelopes took turns scoring for the next ten points. GCU’s Camden Gianni broke through with two kills, cutting BYU’s lead to 18-15. In the final minutes of the set, the teams set off on a killing streak, with Gardini, Ah Sue and Julien registering kills. Two fatal GCU service errors and two additional kills by Ah Sue secured BYU its first set-win at 25-21.

SET TWO
The set started off in a tighter fashion, with the teams tying four times by 6-6. Seven of the 12 points came from kills, including contributions by Ramanis and Ah Sue. GCU broke away for the first time, managing a 3-0 run after two BYU attack errors. Heading into timeout, the Antelopes held a 9-6 lead. 

The Cougars scored two of three coming out of the timeout, cutting the lead to 10-8. GCU registered its 18th kill of the match and a block, creating the largest margin of the set at 13-9.

Ramanis put down back-to-back kills to whittle the lead to two, but the Antelopes scored five of the next seven increasing their lead to 18-13.

Gardini registered his sixth kill of the match, but GCU scored five of the next seven to take a 23-16 lead.

After a 'Lopes service error, a kill by sophomore outside hitter Kupono Browne and a junior libero Jon Stanley ace, the Cougars drew within four. However, two final kills by GCU’s Janke sealed GCU its first set-win at 25-19.

SET THREE
Ramanis began the third set with a back row kill, but the Cougars and 'Lopes traded points knotting the set at four. The Cougars broke away after two straight kills from Browne.The Lopes stopped the BYU run with a kill, but Ramanis followed with his tenth kill of the match, keeping the Cougars ahead at 7-5.

The 'Lopes scored three of the next four points to tie the set at 8-8 before Gardini recorded his eighth kill of the match and a GCU attack error put the Cougars in the lead again at 10-8. This set the Antelopes off, scoring five of the next six points, featuring three kills by GCU’s Janke. These kills allowed GCU to take its first lead of the set at 13-11. Ramanis stopped the run with a kill, but a BYU service error extended GCU’s lead to 15-12.

The Cougars and Antelopes traded points until GCU put up a set-shifting 5-0 run, including four consecutive kills and an ace, widening the gap to 23-16. Sławiński recorded his first kill of the night to stop the bleeding. 

A BYU service error brought GCU to set-point, but the Cougars scored two-straight to stay alive in the set. Ultimately, a final 'Lopes kill gave GCU a 2-1 lead in the match at 25-19.

SET FOUR
GCU scored the first two points of the set, but the Cougars bounced right back with two blocks and a Ramanis ace to score four straight and take a 4-2 lead.

The 'Lopes squared the set at five after taking three of the next four points. GCU and BYU traded points until GCU took a 10-8 lead. A GCU kill at 11-9 would set the stage for 15 kills in the next 18 points, including seven tied scores. At the end of the kill streak, BYU trailed by just one point at 19-18. A GCU attack error tied the set at 19-19. GCU countered with two points, but a Gardini ace and Browne's ninth kill tied the set again at 22-22.

In the end, a final GCU kill and an ace allowed the Antelopes to win the match with the 25-22 final-set win.

The Cougars return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. MST to take on the Antelopes one more time.