The Georgian Court University volleyball squad, after playing its first seven games of the year within the friendly confines of the GCU Wellness Center, trekked away from campus for the first time in 2014 as the Lions journeyed to New England for four matches this past weekend.

The Lions' first stop was at the Bentley University Invitational in Waltham, Massachusetts where GCU took on the University of Montevallo (Alabama) and the host-Falcons on Saturday before travelling to Manchester, New Hampshire on Sunday for a tri-match vs. Merrimack College and host-St. Anselm College.

GCU (3-8) opened the two-day trip vs. Montevallo, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Falcons (15-25, 25-20, 13-25, 17-25). Katie Best (Sr.-Hoover, Ala.) topped the victors with nine kills while Briana Marquez (Jr.-Channahon, Ill.) dished 28 assists. Three Falcons tallied 10+ digs, including Sarah Guidry (Sr.-Fort Walton Beach, Fla), Carissa Bell (Jr.-Woodstock, Ga.) and Rebekah Phelps (Jr.-Huntsville, Ala.) with 21, 19, and 11 respectively.

Tatiana Villariny Rodriguez (Sr.-Rio Grande, P.R.) paced the Lions with a match-best 13 kills while Kelsey Oliver (So.-Vancouver, Wash.) did the same with her 35 assists. Francheska Cedres (Gr.-Carolina, P.R.) led all players with 23 digs. Jennifer Smith (So.-Redlands, Calif.) controlled 10 of her own.

Saturday concluded with a 3-0 setback to the Falcons of Bentley (21-25, 17-25, 18-25). Simone Silvera (Sr.-Bolingbrook, Ill.) and Lauren Van Buren (So.-Massapequa Park, N.Y.) each smacked a team-best seven kills as Alex Tator (Sr.-Los Angeles, Calif.) distributed a match-best 27 assists. Teammates Lauren Colasanti (Sr.-Northville, Mich.) and Jessica Segal (Jr.-West Harrison, N.Y.) gathered 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

Villariny Rodriguez again topped the Lions in the kills department, this time with 10. Oliver and Amanda Rodriguez (Fr.-Bel Air, Md.) shared the setting responsibilities for GCU as the pair settled 16 and 10, respectively. Cedres led the way for the Lions with 18 digs.

After the getting some needed rest, the Lions took the floor Sunday against Merrimack, falling to the Warriors, 3-0 (20-25, 14-25, 17-25). Stephanie Sheehan (Sr.-Smithtown, N.Y.) led Merrimack with her 12 kills as Tara Stuhr (So.-Huntington Beach, Calif.) shared 25 assists. Madison Burke (Jr.-San Jose, Calif.) collected 13 digs in the win.

Georgian Court's offense sputtered in the loss as Villariny Rodriguez (for the third straight match) led the the Lions in kills, this time with seven. Oliver was the leader in assists with nine while Cedres gathered seven digs.

The weekend concluded with the Lions' match vs. St. Anselm as the Hawks bested GCU, 3-2. The home team took set one, 25-19, before GCU evened the score with a 25-21 win in session two. The visitors took a lead of their own, winning set three, 25-23, before the Hawks took the final two frames, 25-13 and 15-8, to secure the triumph.

Micaela Donatio (So.-North Andover, Mass.) drilled 11 kills while Shannon Douglas (Sr.-Rochester, N.H.) and Melissa Ouellet (Sr.-Salem, N.H.) each garnered 10 apiece. Natalie Steinwart topped her squad with 43 assists. Melissa Jewett (Sr.-Newton, Mass.) paced the Hawks with 21 digs. Catherine Morgan (So.-Farmington Hills, Mich.) coralled 13 with Jenny Doder (Sr.-St. Louis, Mo.) controlling 11 digs.

Villariny Rodriguez continued to shine for the GCU offense with her match-best 16 kills. Annabelle Barinas (Sr.-Newark, N.J.) added 10 kills in the effort. Oliver dished 45 assists and collected 11 digs for her third double-double this season. Cedres controlled 27 digs while Smith gathered 11, followed by 10 from Dara Schroeder (Sr.-Bordentown, N.J.).

GCU returns to conference play Wednesday evening with a 7:00 p.m. CACC showdown at Holy Family University.