PLEASANTVILLE, NY (Sept. 19, 2023) - Georgian Court Volleyball took the opening set from Pace, but the Setters rallied to win the final three in a 3-1 match win. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Lions and puts them at 6-4 on the season.

How it Happened
• Pace finished the match hitting .310 and were above .400 in the final two sets with 62 total kills. GCU hit .132 with 48 kills and 29 attack errors.
• Georgian Court was a plus-15 in points on the service landing 14 aces to Pace's four and committing just five errors while Pace hit 10.
• Blocking was in favor of the Setters who totaled 12 while the Lions put back just three.
• Defensively, teams were even in terms of digs as Pace held a slight 60-57 advantage. 
Set 1
• Georgian Court started the match scoring the first three points. Pace responded though with a 10-3 run to go ahead 10-6.
• The Lions battled back to tie at 13, but Pace rattled off four straight to get back ahead by four, 17-13.
• GCU used a 6-1 run to retake the lead at 19-18 and the teams went back and forth to the end.
• A Nylene Mateo service ace but GCU ahead 23-21. Tied again at 23, Martina Croce's kill gave the Lions the lead and Setter attack error gave GCU set one, 25-23.
• The set featured 16 total attack errors with Pace hitting .152 and the Lions .118.
Set 2
• The teams traded the first 11 points with neither team scoring two in a row until the Setters took a 7-5 lead. They made it 8-5 on a Lion attack error to force a GCU timeout.
• Pace took off from there, pushing their lead to as much as eight, 16-8.
• Georgian Court would not be denied thought. Down to set point, 24-18, the Lions stormed back scoring seven straight to take a 25-24 lead. But a service error sided out for the Setters who then scored a kill and an attack error to win 27-25.
• Pace landed 17 kills in the set and hit .277.
Set 3
• After GCU scored the first two points of set three, Pace scored four straight for a 4-2 lead.
• The Setters built their lead to as much as five, 16-11, before the Lions started another comeback.
• A Jessica Sprankle service ace made it a 17-16 game and forced a Pace timeout. After the break, Sprankle landed another ace to tie the set at 17.
• Amiyah Woods retied the set at 19 with a kill, but Pace scored three straight and GCU needed a timeout trailing 22-19. Pace went on to win the set by four, 25-21, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Georgian Court hit just .069 in the frame while Pace hit .414 with 16 kills against four errors.
Set 4
• The Lions took a small lead in set two, 9-7, but Pace went on a 5-1 run for a 12-10 lead.
• The Setters forced a Lion timeout scoring four straight with two kills and a block to go up three, 18-15.
• This time, GCU was unable to mount a comeback and the Setters went on to win the set and the match, 25-20.  

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo led the Lions with 13 kills. She added three service aces and five digs as well.
• Iciar Zayas dished out 40 assists with seven digs.
• Giorgia Cappelletti picked up a 10 kills, 15 dig double-double. She also had a match-high five service aces.
• Martina Croce finished with 11 kills.
• Jessica Sprankle had a match-high 18 digs with three aces.
• Amiyah Woods hit .438 with eight kills.

For the Setters
• Karielys Melendez hit .385 with 12 kills and 11 digs.
• Yasmeen Muhammad led all scorers with 17 kills hitting .652.
• Brielle Jones had a 13-kill, 10-dig double-double.
• Maggie Ferguson passed out 21 assists with five digs.
• Georgette Cosentino led Pace with 27 assists and 14 digs.

News and Notes
• Needing just three assists, Iciar Zayas joined the Georigan Court 1,000 assist club in the first set. She's just the eighth Lion to ever reach 1,000 assists.
• Nylene Mateo moved to ninth all-time at GCU in kills.
• Jessica Sprankle hit 750 career digs.
• This match broke a 4-4 all-time series tie. 
• Pace's .310 attack percentage was the highest for a Lions opponent this season, as were the 62 kills. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court gets back to conference play later this week. They'll be in Philadelphia to face Jefferson Thursday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. before returning home for a 12 p.m. matinee Saturday against Wilmington.