LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Sept. 13, 2022) - The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) season is underway for Georgian Court Volleyball. The Lions played their first conference match Tuesday evening at the GCU Wellness Center, but came up short in a 3-0 loss to Chestnut Hill (25-19, 25-21, 25-22).

How it Happened
• Chestnut Hill played with only seven and made the most of it. They landed 43 kills to the Lions 29 and hit .280, almost 100 points higher than GCU's .185.
• Defensively, the Lions dug out just 24 balls while the Griffons corralled 32.
• The blocking numbers were even with GCU putting back eight and Chestnut Hill seven.
• Chestnut Hill had a sideout percentage greater than 70% in the first two sets.
• The Griffons led from the opening point in set one. They scored first on a service ace and never trailed. A kill from Erika Dubosky put them up six, 10-4, their biggest lead in the frame. The Lions fought back though, cutting the match to two, 19-17, on a Nylene Mateo kill. That's as close as the Lions got though as the Griffons ratted off four straight points and went on to win by six, 25-19.
• Set two was another where the Lions never grabbed the lead. Chestnut Hill got out to an 8-4 lead, but GCU went on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 10. Amiyah Woods had a kill and a block during the run and Iciar Zayas and Jessica Sprankle each landed a service ace. After GCU tied the set though, Chestnut Hill scored 10 of the next 15 points, going up 20-15 and forcing a Georgian Court timeout. The Lions were able to cut the lead down to three on a couple of occasions, but a Griffon kill ended the set at 25-21.
• The third set was the tightest of the match. The set featured 13 tie scores and seven lead changes. Neither team held more than a three point advantage at point during the set. With the set tied at five, Chestnut Hill scored three straight to go up 8-5 and force a Georgian Court timeout. The Lions came all the way back with an 8-3 run capped off by a Mateo kill and Jana Borkovic service ace for a 13-11 lead. The Lions still were up two, 20-18, when the Griffons scored three straight, getting a block and two kills to reclaim a 21-20 lead. Twice the Lions were able to re-tie, but Chestnut Hill closed the match scoring three straight kills and won the match with a 25-22 win in set three.

Lions Stat Leaders
• Amiyah Woods hit .308 for the match with six kills on 13 attempts with a block.
• Nylene Mateo finished with a team-best nine kills.
• Iciar Zayas had 17 assists and four digs.
• Jana Borkovic led the squad with nine digs and two service aces.
• Ava Venneri and Chelsea Ross each finished with five kills. 

For the Griffons
• Henielys Ramos had a game-high 19 kills and hit .417 for the match.
• Mikayla Grimes and Erika Dubosky each had nine kills, three digs and two blocks. Dubosky added a game-high three service aces.
• Mia Caporellie passed out 37 assists.
• Torrin Kelley had a game-best 13 digs.

News and Notes
• The match concludes a season-long six game homestand during which GCU went 2-4.
• The Lions will be on the road now for six of their next seven matches. They'll play at home just twice in the next month, from now until Oct. 13.
• This is the first match this season Nylene Mateo hasn't reached double-digit kills.
• Iciar Zayas is one assist away from 300 for the season.
• GCU has 16 blocks in their last two matches.

Up Next
• The Lions will hit the road later this week when they head to Newark, Del. to take on Wilmington. First serve is set for 7 p.m.