Ettrick, Va - Georgian Court University women's volleyball opened the 2021 campaign in perfect fashion as the Lions proved to be victorious in all three of their outings this weekend in the Virginia State University Opening Weekend Invitational.

GCU opened competition Friday morning as the royal-and-gold shut down the host-Trojans, 3-1 (21-25, 29-27, 25-12, 25-22). "It was great to finally get back into a regular type of pre-season and season opening tournament," said head coach Dan Sempkowski after the match.  "We came out a little flat today, but turned it on somewhere late into that first set.  It was definitely an all around good team win, with contributions from across the roster."

Senior outside hitter, Kinsy Haschke, added: "It was really great getting to get out on the court again in front of an ecstatic crowd. I feel that we brought out great energy as a team. Today's win was a great way to start off our season!"

The Lions returned to the floor Saturday morning, kicking off the day with thrilling 3-2 triumph over the University of Mount Olive (26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 24-26, 15-12). "As much as we'd love to walk out with a three-set win every time out, we will always take an opportunity to show perseverance against a good team," said Sempkowski. "In the end, we stepped up to escape with a good win vs. a very good team in Mount Olive."

Added senior middle blocker, Grace Fenn: "It wasn't an easy match, but I'm really proud of everyone. We knew what we needed to do to get it done in the end."

Georgian Court concluded the day with a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 27-25, 25-19) of Salem University, a team they will see again on Sept. 17 as part of a tri-match hosted by Kutztown University. "We're very happy to start our season off with three good wins," concluded Sempkowski. "There was a lot of balance from our offense, which made us tough to stop all weekend."

GCU now prepares to make its home debut Wednesday evening (7:00 p.m.) as the Lions welcome Lincoln University (season debut) to the Wellness Center Arena.