NEW HAVEN, CT – The Georgian Court University volleyball squad, after two previous attempts, made history Thursday evening at the University of New Haven by defeating fifth seed Merrimack College, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-21) for the volleyball program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. The #4 Lions (32-4) now advance to the NCAA Division East Regional semifinals to take on top-seeded New Haven Friday night at 7:30 PM. The Chargers (29-3) dropped #8 Queens College, 3-0, in the match following the GCU-Merrimack contest.

Georgian Court jumped out to leads of 11-5, 15-6, and 20-8 in the first set before winning the set 25-16. Merrimack again was down early in the second set, trailing 14-6 midway through. The Warriors then rallied, going on a 13-4 run to take their first lead in the match since early in the first set. But GCU retaliated with a run of its own to take the second game 25-23 behind six kills from senior Angie Casado (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) and 10 assists from junior setter Lisamary Figueroa (Toa Alta, PR).

Georgian Court sprinted to a 9-4 advantage in the third, but Merrimack played them tough from that point forward, making the set close before falling 25-21.

In their third-ever NCAA appearance, the Lions were led by Figueroa (11 kills, 29 assists), Casado (12 kills, 11 digs) and Janelle Murdock (Jr.-Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional (10 kills, 14 digs).

Merrimack was led by Elyse Lorenz (17 assists, 11 digs) Molly Cindric (nine kills, six digs) and Lisa Barr (10 kills). Just four Warriors recorded kills during the match as Merrimack committed 16 attack errors and hit just .087.

The win, Georgian Court's 23rd consecutive "W", marks the second time this season that the Lions defeated Merrimack. GCU played the Lady Warriors back on September 12th in the UMASS-Lowell Tournament in Lowell, MA, defeating Merrimack in a thrilling, five-set affair (22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13).

The Lions also played its next opponent this year, falling to the Chargers, 3-0 (24-26, 14-25, 18-25), back on September 5th at the Bentley Invitational in Waltham, MA. The winner of this heavyweight bout will take on the winner of the other semifinal match between #2 Dowling College and the #6 University of Bridgeport (5:00 PM). The East Regional championship match will take place on Saturday night at 7:00 PM, also at the University of New Haven.