Hurricane Headliners: Grace Lopez

In Hurricane Headliners, Christy Cabrera Chirinos spotlights some of Miami’s top performing student-athletes as they look to continue excelling in and out of competition.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami had won the match, but she knew she hadn’t played her best.

And so, Grace Lopez worked to push the Hurricanes’ 3-1 win over Indiana last Friday to the back of her mind and focus instead on how she could be better when Miami faced the nation’s top-ranked team, Texas, in its second match at the Texas Invitational.

“That game against Indiana, I had a bunch of errors,” Lopez recalled. “And I was like, ‘You know you have to focus more because tomorrow, we’re going to play the number one team, a way harder team.’ So, I locked in very well and that’s probably why I did a good job.”

Lopez’s assessment may have sold her a bit short.

Against the Longhorns, the sophomore outside hitter led Miami with 20 kills, 15 digs and four blocks.

The ultimate result?

She helped the Hurricanes put together a five-set, come-from-behind 3-2 win over the defending national champion Longhorns, who, at one point in the third looked poise to take the win.

But down 24-23 in that fateful set, Lopez and the Hurricanes found a way to stave off match point, winning the third 26-24 and then taking the last two sets to secure Miami’s first win over a No. 1 team in program history.

And it was Lopez, after an assist from setter Alanys Viera, who put down the final point.

“Before the game, I was saying to the girls, ‘You know what? Why not us? Why not us?’ and the girls were all hyped. We had good energy and all that stuff,” Lopez said. “It was amazing. … When we won, we were really, really happy and proud of ourselves.”

That Lopez may be finding her voice as one of the veterans in Miami’s locker room is no surprise after the season she put together last fall.

Though she expected she might redshirt her freshman year, a strong, nine-kill performance against then-No. 1 Wisconsin last September had Lopez and her coaches rethinking the idea to have her sit out.

It was clear she was ready to not just play at the college level but excel.

And that’s exactly what she did.

Lopez went on to total a team-high 407 kills, 178 digs and had 27 aces in her first season as a Hurricane. She had eight matches where she logged at least 20 kills and quickly added her name to Miami’s record book.

Today, Lopez has the third-most kills in a match with 30 for the Hurricanes and is tied for first for most kills in a three-set match (22).

Twice during the season, she was recognized as the ACC Freshman of the Week and at year’s end, Lopez was named to both the All-ACC first team and the ACC All-Freshman team.

That all of that success came after Lopez feared a serious knee injury in high school would limit her college options only made her freshman season all the more memorable.

“Last season meant a lot. It’s insane, because to be honest, when I tore my ACL, my leg was so skinny. I was able to gain muscle again in that leg and go through a lot of recovery, but when I came back to the court, I was still uncommitted,” Lopez recalled. “Then I started playing with the national team [back home in Puerto Rico] and that’s when it started, colleges were writing to me again. That’s when I decided to go to Miami. But the ACL [injury] helped me be more disciplined with my exercises and all that stuff and now I feel much stronger than before, physically and mentally.”

With her first season of collegiate volleyball now behind her and her second off to an impressive start, Lopez says she’s determined to keep growing her game – and helping the Hurricanes continue putting together wins like the one over Texas that none of them will be forgetting any time soon.

“I think we just have to keep building up a lot,” Lopez said. “Right now, we’re in the top 20 [of the AVCA poll], but that doesn’t mean like, ‘oh, we’re good.’ We still need to work on a lot to maintain ourselves in that top 20 or go even higher. So, we’re just going to practice, stay disciplined the whole time and see if we can do better in the future.”

Making a Mark

Through the first few weeks of the fall season, more than a few Hurricanes have already earned recognition from the ACC, and beyond.

Quarterback Cam Ward, who threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns in Miami’s season-opening win against Florida on Aug. 31, was named the ACC Quarterback of the Week, the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week, and the Maxwell Award National Player of the Week.

Also earning ACC recognition after the win over Florida were center Zach Carpenter (Offensive Lineman of the Week) and safety Jaden Harris (Defensive Back of the Week).

Defensive lineman Tyler Baron, meanwhile, was named the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week after his three-sack performance in Miami’s win over FAMU on Saturday.

Freshman soccer player Giovana Canali, who had the game winner in Miami’s 1-0 over FIU on Sept. 1, was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3.

What to Watch This Weekend

Plenty of Hurricanes will be in action this weekend, starting with Miami’s football team, which hosts a non-conference matchup against Ball State on Saturday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

Miami’s volleyball team will travel to Columbus, Ohio where it will face Ohio State on Friday, Wright State on Saturday and Buffalo on Sunday in the Sports Import Classic.