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It didn’t take long for outside attacker Gage Doble to make a name for themselves in the MPSF.
The freshman in their conference debut led all players with a season-high 22 kills and had one error on a .600 attack percentage as Concordia upset No. 5/5 Grand Canyon 25-23, 25-23, 25-27, 12-25, 15-9 on Friday in Phoenix, Arizona.
Doble in the decisive fifth game had a game-high six kills, including two kills as part of a 4-0 run to close out the match. In addition, the freshman in the final three games did not commit an attack error and had a combined 15 kills.
This performance helped Concordia (7-12, 1-4 MPSF) secure its first conference win of the season and its first win against a top-five nationally ranked team since 2019.
Setter Makai Lipson had 44 assists and guided Concordia to out-hit Grand Canyon .396 to .395. The Golden Eagles also had a match-best .714 attack percentage in the decisive game.
Along with Doble, opposite Uriel Batista had 17 kills highlighted with back-to-back kills in the fifth game to set up the match-winning point. Middle attacker Gil Herold contributed eight kills on a team-high .636 attack percentage.
Herold defensively also led all players with four blocks and had two of those blocks during a 5-0 run midway through the fifth game to give the Golden Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.
Grand Canyon (20-2, 5-2 MPSF) in the loss had four players with double-digit kills.
Opposite Camden Gianni finished with a team-high 20 kills on a .333 attack percentage, while outside attacker Jackson Hickman had 15 kills and hit .462. In addition, middle attacker Rico Wardlow contributed 11 kills and zero errors on a .688 attack percentage.
Grand Canyon entered this match undefeated at home and on a six-match winning streak. Despite the loss, Grand Canyon remains in second place in the MPSF and is on now a one-and-half matches behind first-place No. 3/3 UCLA.