NEW HAVEN, CT (Oct. 3, 2022) - Georgian Court Volleyball went on the road for a nonconference match with Southern Connecticut. After a first set that needed extra points to settle, the Lions fell in straight sets 3-0 (29-27, 25-18, 25-17). 

How it Happened
• The Owls led the match hitting .220 while GCU hit just .024. The Lions landed 27 kills but also hit into 24 attack errors.
• Both teams dug out more than 60 attacks, with the Lions totaling 65.
• Southern Connecticut scored 10 more blocking points than GCU, 12-2. They also landed 10 service aces to the Lions nine. 
• Each team held small leads early in the opening set. Tied at seven, Southern Connecticut used a 6-3 run to take a 13-10 lead. GCU came back to get within one, but the Owls pushed the lead to a set-high four, 21-17. The Lions continued to fight back. Down to set point, 24-22, the Lions scored two straight, getting a kill from Chelsea Ross and an Owl attack error to tie the set at 24. 
• Georgian Court got two more kills from Ross to get to set point, 25-24 and 27-25, but the Owls tied each time. Knotted at 27, SCSU put back a block and ended the set on a service ace to take a 1-0 lead in the match. 
• The Lions never led in set two. Each team went on a number of runs with the Owls stretching their lead and the Lions coming back. Tied at one, the Owls scored five straight for a 6-1 lead. The Lions though answered and cut it to two, 7-5. Southern Connecticut got the lead back up to five but again, the Lions responded and made it a one-point set, 12-11.
• With the help of a 7-3 run, Southern Connecticut pushed the lead to five, 19-14. The Lions got right back in with four straight points, getting a service ace from Nylene Mateo and kills from Emma Gildea and Chelsea Ross. The last run of the set though went to the Owls who scored the final six points of the set for a 25-18 win.
• The Lions held a brief lead at the start of the third set, 3-1, but the Owls scored the next six points to get ahead 7-3. Southern Connecticut never trailed the rest of the way. GCU got back to within two, 11-9 with a pair of service aces from Mateo. 
• SCSU pushed the lead back to a set-high seven, 17-10 to force a GCU timeout. The Owls were able to maintain the lead the rest of the way, scoring the final four points of the match for a 25-17 win.

Lions Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo finished with a team-best 11 kills and three service aces.
• Jana Borkovic helped out defensively with 21 digs.
• Dayna Diaz passed out 12 assist and dug out seven attacks.
• Iciar Zayas chipped in 14 digs and seven assists.

For the Owls
• Payton Reis led the Owls with nine kills and a .318 attack percentage.
• Kacey Deecher hit .412 with eight kills.
• Taylor Jones finished with a match-high 24 assists.
• Gabriela Gaibur collected 19 digs and landed eight kills. 

News and Notes
• Dayna Diaz's 12 assists are a career-high.
• Jana Borkovic has 20+ digs in three of her last four matches.
• Nylene Mateo went over 1500 career attempts.
• In their last two matches, the Lions are averaging 23 digs per set.
• The Lions two service errors are their fewest in a match this season. 

Up Next
• The Lions return home Thursday evening for a conference match with Jefferson. First serve is set for 6 p.m.