PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 27, 2022) - Georgian Court faced a tough test Thursday evening in Philadelphia against conference leaders Jefferson. The Lions suffered a 3-0 loss to the Rams, falling 25-16, 25-18, 25-15.

How it Happened
• Jefferson hit nearly .300 for the match at .293 while the Lions hit .118.
• GCU landed 31 kills and 19 attack errors. The Rams totaled 43 kills and just 14 errors.
• Jefferson also scored five more blocks and five more service errors. 
• Georgian Court went out in front early on grabbing a 4-2 lead in the opening set. Jefferson though claimed their first lead with a 4-0 run. The Lions stormed back on the strength of a 6-2 run to go back out in front 12-10. Emma Gildea and Nylene Mateo had back-to-back kills to put the Lions on top.
• Still ahead by two, 14-12, that's when the wheels fell off. Jefferson scored 11 straight points to take a 23-12 lead and went on to take set one 25-16.
• Set two started much the same with the Lions scoring the first four points. The Lions were still up 9-7 when the Rams went on another big run, this time 5-0, to take the lead for good, 12-9.
• The Lions were still in the set down just three, 18-15, but Jefferson scored seven of the final 10 points to go up 2-0 in the match with a 25-18 win.
• Georgian Court never led in set three. Jefferson scored the first point and the teams traded points in the early going. With the Lions down one again, 7-6, Jefferson scored five straight to pull ahead 12-6. The Rams maintained that lead throughout the set, leading by five, 20-15. Jefferson closed the match scoring the final five points for a 25-15 win.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo scored a match-high 17 kills and hit .282 for the match. She also added nine digs, falling a dig short of a double-double.
• Iciar Zayas passed out 27 assists and picked up six digs.
• Jana Borkovic scooped up 15 digs to lead the Lions.
• Chelsea Ross and Amiyah Woods each added five kills.
• Emma Gildea scored six points with four kills and two blocks. 

For the Rams
• Sam Mann had a team-best 13 kills and put back eight blocks.
• Jess Molen also added 13 kills and picked up eight digs.
• Victoria Hamby dished out 32 assists and chipped in six digs.
• Cameron Johnson finished with a team-best eight digs. 

News and Notes
• Iciar Zayas recorded her 700th career assist. Just the ninth Lion all-time to hit that milestone.
• Nylene Mateo is up to 386 kills this season which puts her in the GCU top-10 for a single season at number six.
• Jessica Sprankle's service ace gives her 56 this season and puts her in the top-10 all-time for a single season in GCU history. 
• Jana Borkovic has five straight matches with 10+ digs. 
• The Lions streak of 14 straight matches with at least five service aces came to a close as they landed just two.

Up Next
• Georgian Court returns home Saturday, Oct. 29 to take on Dominican. The evening match gets underway at 5 p.m.