LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Sept. 23, 2022) - Georgian Court Women's Volleyball picked up their third straight win Friday afternoon. They defeated the Post University Eagles 3-1 (25-12, 25-23, 15-25, 25-22) in CACC action. The win evens the Lions up at 2-2 in the CACC and puts them at 6-8 overall. 

How it Happened
• Post was the team that scored more points, 62-57, but total errors gave GCU 34 additional points.
• The Lions helped themselves hitting .276 for the match while the Eagles hit just .124.
• The match featured 12 ties and five lead changes, most of those coming in the fourth set, nine and four respectively. 
• The teams were evenly matched on the defensive end with GCU digging out 60 attacks and Post 57.
• Post kept up by landing 14 service aces to the Lions five.
• Set one was all Lions. They scored the first seven points in the frame, including three straight service aces from Jessica Sprankle. The Eagles were never able to get anything going and the Lions ended the set scoring the final six points. GCU hit .323 for the set while the Eagles hit as many errors as they did kills, six. GCU helped themselves with a sideout percentage of 75% (9-12) in the first frame.
• The second set seemed like it might be another stress-free victory for the Lions. Things started out with a little back-and-forth, tied at seven before GCU took off. They used a 13-5 run to get out to a 20-12 lead and looked to be in cruise control. An Eagle attack error gave GCU set point at 24-15. Their first attempt to end the set ended in a service error and that opened the door for a Post rally. Including the service error, the Eagles scored eight unanswered points and closed to within one, 24-23. After a second Georgian Court timeout, Nylene Mateo decided eight was enough and landed a kill to give the Lions the 25-23 set win.
• The Eagle momentum however carried over into set three. They scored the first four points and raced out to an 8-2 lead. Taking into account the end of set two, the Eagles scored 16 of a possible 19 points. Georgian Court was unable to recover completely and the Eagles got back into the match with a 25-15 set three win.
• Georgian Court hit .400 for the fourth set but it was still the closest set of the match. That's because Post was helped out by six service aces.
• Neither team held more than a two point lead until one of the six Eagle aces put them ahead 12-9. They pushed the lead to four, 18-14 with another service ace as they had their eyes on tying the match.
• Things turned quickly in favor of the home team however. Amiyah Woods made it 18-16 with a kill and that's when a yellow card was issued to one of the Eagles on the court. GCU sensed the tides turning and took advantage, tying the set on another kill from Woods and one from Ava Venneri. Still tied at 20, GCU went on a 4-1 run to get to match point, 24-21. Just like in set three, Iciar Zayas set up Mateo who slammed it home for her 16th kill of the match and the game-winner.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo led the Lion offense with 16 kills and hit .303 for the match. She also corralled seven digs.
• Amiyah Woods hit 11 kills against no errors for a .647 attack percentage and two blocks.
• Emma Gildea chipped in seven kills.
• Alexa Houston added six kills and six digs.
• Iciar Zayas centered the offense with 42 assists and was a dig shy of a double-double.
• Jana Borkovic played a big hand defensively with 23 digs.
• Jessica Sprankle landed three service aces and picked up six digs.

For the Eagles
• Lydimar Soto De Los Santos finished with a match-high 17 kills and added eight digs.
• Aniya Goodman hit .467 with eight kills.
• Maria Branco passed out 33 assists and included 12 digs for a double-double. 
• Zara McCauley and Alyssa Groves each scooped up 11 digs.
• Izabella Rae served up five aces. 

News and Notes
• The Lions three match winning streak is their longest of the season thus far.
• Jana Borkovic's 23 kills are one shy of a season-best and the most in four-set match this season.
• After missing two matches, Nylene Mateo returned with 16 kills. She has double-digit kills in 10 of her 12 matches played and surpassed 200 kills on the season.
• Jessica Sprankle has at least three service aces in three straight matches. She's got 12 during the current three-match winning streak.
• The Lions .276 attack percentage is their highest this season. 
• Amiyah Woods' attack percentage of .647 is the highest for a Lion this season. She's got 31 kills against just four errors in her last three matches with a .491 attack percentage. 

Up Next
• The Lions are back on the road for the start of a three-match road trip. First up is Holy Family, Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.