LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 8, 2023) - A loss would have eliminated them from the CACC Tournament. A win kept the playoff hopes alive heading into this weekend's regular season finale. Georgian Court Volleyball knew the task at hand, but the opponent, second-place Chestnut Hill, wasn't going to be easy. Georgian Court showed their might winning the first two sets, then after dropping three and four showed their resiliency to win the match in five sets. The win puts Georgian Court at 14-11 this season and 8-7 in the CACC.

How it Happened
• Chestnut Hill landed more kills, 56-45, but also hit 31 attack errors to the Lions 17. GCU finished the match hitting .189 while CHC was at .153.
• Georgian Court was also strong on the block putting back 14 blocks and outblocking the Griffins 14-3.
• On the serve, GCU hit nine aces and nine errors. The Griffins landed 11 aces but also hit 13 service errors.
• Chestnut Hill scooped up 73 digs while the Lions picked 62.
• Georgian Court shot themselves in the foot with unforced errors, totaling six block errors and four ball-handling errors. Those crucial points helped keep the Griffins in the match.
Set 1 - 25-22
• Georgian Court scored the first three points of the match with a pair of kills from Chelsea Ross.   
• Although CHC closed to within one on a handful of occasions, Georgian Court never lost the lead the rest of the set.
• Lead by one, 16-15, GCU gave themselves a cushion at 19-16 with Matina Croce and Nylene Mateo kills. They pushed that lead to five, 23-18 following another Croce kill.
• Chestnut Hill though scored four straight to close to within one and the Lions couldn't help but think of earlier in the season, leading the Griffins in set four 23-17 and allowing eight straight points for CHC to steal the set.
• That wasn't the case this time around. A service error gave the Lions the serve back and Amiyah Woods ended it with a kill.
Set 2 - 25-17
• For the second straight set, Georgian Court never trailed. They got ahead early, 5-2, and led throughout.
• Chestnut Hill closed to one at 10-9, but the Lions rallied for five straight points, capped off by back-to-back blocks. Chelsea Ross had a piece of both blocks as the Lions went ahead 15-9.
• Later in the set the Lions again used another big run, this time scoring six straight. Martina Croce had two service aces and two kills during the run for a 22-11 lead.
• The Griffins made things a little close scoring six straight of their own, but a ball-handling error gave GCU the serve and a Giorgia Cappelletti ace put the Lions up 2-0.
Set 3 - 12-25
• The script flipped for the Lions in set three. Chestnut Hill started the frame scoring seven of the first eight points.
• Leading 9-3, CHC then scored seven straight for a commanding 15-3 lead.
• Georgian Court scored five of the final eight points, but it was too-little, too-late and Chestnut Hill took the third set 25-12. 
• The Griffins landed five of their 11 aces in the third set.
Set 4 - 23-25
• The fourth set saw the Lions continually battle back, but never could quite overcome the Griffin lead.
• CHC got a kill and service aces to lead 6-3 early on.
• Georgian Court tied the set at nine with Jessica Sprankle ace, but the Griffins responded with three straight and five-of-six to lead 14-10.
• GCU rallied to close the gap to one, but Chestnut Hill took their largest lead, 20-14 thanks to a 5-0 run.
• The Lions kept fighting back and another Chelsea Ross block got them to within one, 22-21.
• Chestnut Hill got to set-point, 24-21, but there were the Lions again with kills from Martina Croce and Giorgia Cappelletti making it one-point game again.
• The comeback bid ultimately ran out of time as a CHC kill tied the match two sets apiece.
Set 5 - 15-9
• Despite the set four loss, Georgian Court outscored the Griffins 9-5 down the stretch and carried that momentum into the fifth set.
• The scored the first three with two blocks to start things off and a Dayna Diaz service ace.
• That early 3-0 run set the tempo for the set. Leading by two, 8-6, Georgian Court put the match away scoring five straight points. Amiyah Woods had three blocks and a kill during the stretch.
• Chestnut Hill was unable to rally and Chelsea Ross finished the match with a kill.
• Georgian Court landed just three kills and the Griffins eight, but the Lions scored seven blocks in the fifth set alone. 

Lion Stat Leaders
• Giorgia Cappelletti had a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs. She also landed three aces.
• Martina Croce scored a team-high 13 kills with eight digs, two aces and four blocks.
• Chelsea Ross put back nine blocks while also landing seven kills.
• Nylene Mateo chipped in nine kills and three blocks.
• Dayna Diaz dished 38 assists while 10 digs.
• Carmen Rivera led the Lions with 18 digs.

For the Griffins
• Rachel Mace scored a game-high 19 kills and added 11 digs.
• Erika Dubosky added 11 kills with 16 digs and four service aces.
• Mia Caporellie had a 43-assist, 10-dig double-double.
• Natalie Albin picked up 18 digs.

News and Notes
• Prior to the match, Georgian Court celebrated Senior Night honoring their lone senior this season, Nylene Mateo.
• Mateo returned for her senior night after missing the previous three matches.
• Martina Croce reached 250 points this season.
• Georgian Court set a season-high with 14.5 blocks in the match.
• Chelsea Ross's nine blocks are a new career-high.

Up Next
• Georgian Court finished up the regular season Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. at Post. The Lions now control their own destiny in regards to the CACC Tournament. A win will put them in. They can also get in with a Holy Family loss to Bridgeport. The Lions will know what they need to do before they take the court Saturday, as Holy Family and Bridgeport are set to meet Friday night.