LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Sept. 3, 2022) - Georgian Court Volleyball played host to the 2022 GCU Volleyball Invitational this weekend, welcoming three teams over the course of two days. Playing one game Friday and two on Saturday, GCU went 1-2, ending the weekend on a high note with a win over Queens (NY).

How It Happened
• The first match for the Lions Friday night was the only one of the weekend to go to five sets. It was a back-and-forth battle with St. Rose that saw the Golden Knights pull out the comeback win 25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 26-28, 13-15. Four of the five sets were determined by the minimum, two points.
• GCU took a 2-1 advantage after the third set. Tied at 23, back-to-back errors gave the Lions the frame.
• The Lions looked in control of the fourth set as well, up five, 20-15, but allowed seven straight points as CSR took a 22-20 advantage. Georgian Court came back to tie and took match-point leads at 24-23 and 26-25. But couldn't close it out, as back-to-back service aces ended set four in favor of the Golden Knights.
• St. Rose then took an early lead in the fifth and decisive set and never looked back. GCU kept it close, but couldn't get even and dropped the set and the match, 15-13.

• Saturday started on a down note with the Lions falling in straight sets to Shepherd 22-25, 26-24, 20-25. The first set saw nine ties and six lead changes, but in the end it was a Ram kill and block that put the set away for Shepherd.
• The closest set of the match saw only one lead change. GCU started out hot with an 8-2 lead following an Iciar Zayas service ace. From there, the Rams climbed back, ultimately tying at 16-all. The teams traded points the rest of the way, but kills from Mikaylah Hoy and Renee Killough gave the set to Shepherd.
• After a close start which saw the Lions trailing by just one, 8-7, Shepherd went on a 4-0 run to break the set open and led the rest of the way, taking the set and the match by five, 25-20.

• Georgian Court handled their next opponent, Queens College, easily in the first two sets, winning 25-20 and 25-15. Queens led just once in the two frames, at the start of set two. GCU stormed out to an 11-3 lead in set one with help from a Nylene Mateo service ace and Ava Venneri kill. 
• Despite Queens making it interesting with an 8-0 run to tie at 11, they never grabbed the lead. Ahead by one, 19-18, the Lions ended the set on a 6-2 run, with Mateo knocking three kills during the stretch.
• Georgian Court turned a 7-7 game into a 20-12 lead thanks to a 13-5 spurt. They were able to coast to a 25-15 set win, ending the frame with an Alexa Houston service ace for a 2-0 lead in the match.
• It looked like the Lions were heading for a sweep, jumping out to a 10-5 lead in set three. The Knights had different ideas though, refusing to go quietly. They came all the way back, taking their first lead at 15-14, and led the rest of the way to cut into the match with a 25-22 win.
• Set four was playing out much the same with the Lions again taking a 10-5 lead and again losing it at 15-14. GCU didn't panic though, and after going down three, 20-17, scored three straight to tie and reclaimed the lead 22-21 following a Knights attack error. Amiyah Woods put the finishing touches on the match with a kill to secure the win. 

Lion Weekend Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo had herself a weekend landing 83 kills on 185 attempts with a .292 hitting percentage. She also added 40 digs and six blocks.
• Iciar Zayas facilitated the offense with 131 assists. 
• Ava Venneri played complement to Mateo with 21 kills.
• Alexa Houston and Amiyah Woods each totaled 18 kills. Woods also tallied five blocks.
• Jessica Sprankle did damage at the service line landing 13 aces. Defensively she also chipped in with 24 digs.
• Jana Borkovic averaged 4.08 digs per set corralling 49 in 12 sets. 

News and Notes
• Mateo hit for 30 or more kills in two of the three matches, including 32 against St. Rose. 
• Mateo concluded her weekend with a 30 kill, 17 dig double-double against Queens.
• For the weekend, the Lions hit .223 as a group with 13.25 kills per set. 
• GCU punched 33 service aces, nine more than their opponents. 
• Jana Borkovic picked up double-digit digs in two of the three matches, including a season-best 24 against St. Rose. 
• Iciar Zayas set a season-best with 51 assists in the opening game of the weekend. She had at least 30 in all three games.
• Of Jessica Sprankle's 13 service aces, a season-high eight came in the win over Queens.

All-Tournament Team
• Following the tournament, Nylene Mateo was named to the GCU Invitational All-Tournament team. Members of the All-Tournament team as determined by the head coaches include:

Claire Ellis - Shepherd
Mikaylah Hoy - Shepherd
Renee Killough - Shepherd
Julia Cavalcanti - St. Rose
Valeria Jorge - St. Rose
Nylene Mateo - Georgian Court
Lindsay Osterhoudt - Queens College

Up Next
• The Lions remain at home for a pair of nonconference matchups next week. First up is Pace, Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 6 pm, followed by Kutztown Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.