BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Nov. 14, 2023) - Georgian Court Volleyball's season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the CACC Tournament. The Lions fell behind Bridgeport 2-0, won the third set, but not the fourth in the 3-1 loss (23-25, 19-25, 25-23, 20-25). GCU finishes the season at 14-13 after going 8-8 in conference regular season. 

How it Happened
• Bridgeport had the edge on offense hitting .257 for the match while the Lions were at .181.
• GCU totaled 53 kills and 23 attack errors. 
• The Lions put back eight total blocks, but just three after the first set. Bridgeport scored just six blocking points.
• The Purple Knights were the top team in the CACC in service aces, but the Lions neutralized that. GCU scored five aces to Bridgeport's four and UB hit nine service errors. 
Set 1 - 23-25
• The two teams were even for much of the start of the opening set.
• GCU scored three straight to get on top, 10-9.
• Bridgeport though answered with a 4-1 run and took the largest lead of the set yet, 14-11.
• The Purple Knights continued their run scoring eight straight at one point and going up 18-11.
• Georgian Court fought back, getting to within two, 24-22, thanks to a 3-0 run. 
• A block following the timeout brought the Lions to within one with all the momentum on their side. That all got taken away on a very tough carry call that gave the set to the Purple Knights, 25-23.
• The Lions totaled five blocks in the set, but also cost themselves chances at points with two blocking errors, three serve errors and a carry.
Set 2 - 19-25
• Georgian Court scored the first three points in the set and led early, 5-1.
• The Lions pushed that lead to five, 14-9, but that's where the Lions stopped scoring.
• Bridgeport went on a 6-1 run to tie things at 15.
• Still tied at 18, the Purple Knights scored seven of the final eight points to take a 2-0 match lead. They outscored GCU 16-5 after getting down 14-9. 
• Lucia Tomiello landed seven kills for Bridgeport.
Set 3 - 25-23
• Set three was tight throughout. Neither team led by three points at any point during the set.
• With the Lions down 9-8, they scored four of five to take a 12-10 lead.
• From there, the Lions never trailed again, but couldn't get the lead to more than two.
• At set point, 24-22, UB closed to within one, by Nylene Mateo ended the set, 25-23 with a kill.
Set 4 - 20-25
• The Lions never led in set four. After things started out 2-2, Bridgeport took a 5-2 lead and never looked back.
• Bridgeport pushed that lead to five, 14-9 forcing the Lions to call a timeout.
• After trading points for a bit, the Purple Knights pulled away to go up seven, 23-16. GCU scored three straight to make it a four-point game, but UB finished the match, 25-20 with a kill.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Giorgia Cappelletti led the Lions with 15 kills and 20 digs. She hit .250 for the match.
• Nylene Mateo landed 12 kills.
• Martina Croce finished with nine kills and nine digs.
• Dayna Diaz passed out 40 assists while also grabbing 18 digs.
• Chelsea Ross scored 11.5 points with nine kills and five blocks.

For the Purple Knights
• Lucia Tomiello finished with a game-high 17 kills, hitting .517.
• Datari Mathis added 16 kills hitting .433.
• Hailey Jessen also totaled 16 kills.
• Jaden Drollinger dished 52 assists with 14 digs.
• Paola Hernandez scooped 18 digs.

News and Notes
• Chelsea Ross reached 400 career kills. 
• Dayna Diaz's 18 digs are a new career-high. 
• The Lions 79 digs were their most in a four-set match this season. 
• Georgian Court is now 25-11 all-time in CACC Tournament games and 12-5 in quarterfinal games.
• All three games between Georgian Court and Bridgeport since the Purple Knights have joined the CACC have been four set UB wins.
• Similar to their match in September, Bridgeport won sets 1, 2 and 4 while the Lions won set three.