LAKEWOOD, NJ (Oct. 19, 2023) - Georgian Court went toe-to-toe with CACC leaders Jefferson who entered the night 8-0 in league play. Not only did they hold their own, they led two sets to one and looked to be on the verge of an upset. Jefferson though was able to rally and came back to steal set four, then take the fifth set and sneak away with a 3-2 win. The loss snaps the Lions four match winning streak and puts them at 11-8 this season and their conference record is now even at 5-5. 

How it Happened
• Georgian Court out hit the Rams .184-1.33. The Rams though landed three more kills, 55-52, but they hit 34 attack errors.
• Jefferson was able to hang in early thanks to points off the serve. They were a plus 12 thanks to 13 service aces. The Lions hurt themselves with nine service errors.
• GCU had a great game-plan up the middle and blocked 14 Ram attacks.
• Jefferson was also able to corral 62 digs to the Lions 58.
Set 1
• The two teams traded points at the outset. Tied at five, Jefferson went on a 5-2 run to go up three, 10-7.
• From there they never trailed again. They pushed the lead to seven, 20-13 helped out by a pair of GCU attack errors.
• They drew first blood in the match, going on to win 25-17. 
• Jefferson hit .333 in the set. They landed four aces as well.
Set 2
• Georgian Court responded going up early in set two. A 4-0 spurt helped out by kills from Amiyah Woods and Nylene Mateo put the Lions up 6-2.
• Though the Lions never trailed again, Jefferson threatened late.
• Trailing 19-12, the Rams went on a 7-1 run to get to within one, 20-19.
• Still leading by one, 21-20, GCU scored the final four points with Mateo's kill ending the frame to tie the match at 1-1.
Set 3
• Tied at six in the third set, GCU scored four of five with two blocks and kills from Mateo and Iciar Zayas.
• After taking a three-point lead, the Lions were able to keep the Rams at arm's length.
• The Rams never got closer than two points the rest of the way and another Amiyah Woods block gave Georgian Court a 2-1 match lead.
Set 4
• The fourth set was a heartbreaker for GCU.
• The Lions led by one, 7-6, before scoring nine straight and going ahead 16-6. GCU had six kills, a block and a service ace during the run.
• Jefferson though did not quit. With the Lions up 20-13, Jefferson rallied back to tie at 20.
• Still tied up at 23-all, Jefferson got back-to-back kills from Sam Mann to steal the fourth set and stay alive.
Set 5
• Jefferson kept that momentum going into set five where they scored the first seven points. They were helped out by three service aces.
• GCU tried their best to hang in the set and got to within five, but the hole they started in was too great and Jefferson was able to walk out of Lakewood with a 3-2 win. 

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo led the team with 19 kills and hit .267 for the match with eight digs and two blocks.
• Giorgia Cappelletti was also in double-figures landing 16 kills and was a dig shy of a double-double.
• Iciar Zayas passed out 43 assists with 12 digs for a double-double.
• Martina Croce added eight kills and 11 digs.
• Carmen Rivera led the Lions with 15 digs.
• Amiyah Woods totaled five kills and six blocks.
• Chelsea Ross put back seven blocks, three solo.

For the Rams
• Jess Molen landed 15 kills with 12 digs for a double-double.
• Morgan Ritchie also hit 15 kills with 10 digs.
• Sam Mann added 12 kills and five blocks.
• Caroline Bond passed out 46 assists with 12 digs.
• Cameron Johnson led the defense with 16 digs.

News and Notes
• Jefferson has now won five straight against the Lions.
• Jessica Sprankle moved to eight all-time at GCU in service aces.
• Nylene Mateo surpassed 600 digs. She also moved to eighth place at GCU in kills.
• The Lions landed six service aces, all by different players.

Up Next
• The Lions will hit the road next Wednesday as the travel to Delaware to take on Wilmington Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.