Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Lakewood, N.J. - After opening the 2017 campaign with three games on the road a week ago, the Georgian Court University women's volleyball squad returned to campus Friday to host its annual two-day, six-team GCU Invitational. The Lions took on Mercy College and NYIT of the East Coast Conference on day one, losing both outings in what proved to be thrilling contests.

GAME ONE

The Invite opened in dramatic fashion as Mercy and the Lions battled through a back-and-forth five-setter to mark the day's first match, a contest eventually secured by the visiting Mavericks (12-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, 15-11).

Mercy earned its first win of the season, improving to 1-4 on the year. The Mavericks blasted 53 kills on 168 total attempts while the Lions clobbered 50 of their own (146 TA).

Courtney Gebhardt (Fr.-Bloomingburg, N.Y.) shined for the victors as the collegiate newcomer authored a double-double consisting of 21 kills and 10 digs. Brooke Runge (Jr.-Closter, N.J.) also contributed a double-double performance with 38 assists and 11 digs.

Neysha Gonzalez (Jr.-Aguadilla, P.R.) topped the team with 21 digs over five sets.

As for the Lions, Peggy Rosario paced the GCU offense with her 15 kills. The junior powerhouse also added 12 digs for Georgian Court's first double-double effort of the season. Gaby Merced tied for the match-high with 21 digs while Ashley Pierson and Jackie Sweeney distributed 25 and 19 assists, respectively.

GAME TWO

Georgian Court took on NYIT in the final match of the evening as the Bears (5-1) eventually wore down the Lions in a 3-1 victory (25-18, 25-17, 17-25, 28-26).

NYIT's Tiffany Verni (Jr.-Patchogue, N.Y.) floored a mighty 24 kills (50 TA) in the win while teammate Karolina Moderova (Sr.-Zalesie, Slovakia) collected a double-double with 16 kills and 17 digs. Allison Fowler followed suit with a double-double of her own (50 assists, 10 digs).

Rosario closed the day with her second double-double for the Lions, this time tallying 13 kills to go along with 14 digs. Merced topped all players with her 22 digs while Pierson dished 21 assists.

The Sweeney sisters, Jaime and Jackie, shared 11 and 10 assists, respectively.

GCU (0-5) gets right back at it Saturday as the Lions host the University of New Haven (2:00 p.m.) and Pace University (6:00 p.m.)