LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 13, 2024) - It had been more than a month since Georgian Court's last reverse sweep, so Wednesday night, the Lions decided to go out and do it again. It's their fourth this season and this time the victim was Holy Family. Georgian Court got down early 20-25, 23-25 but won the final three sets 25-21, 25-19, 15-11 to improve to a season-best 17-9 and 13-2 in the CACC.

How it Happened
• Georgian Court hit better than .200 for the match at .206 while Holy Family hit .176. The Tigers hit below .100 in three of the five sets and were below .000 in set five.
• The Lions hit 10 more kills than Holy Family, 58-48.
• Holy Family scored a bunch at the service line. They put down 18 service aces, but 13 came in the first two sets. The Lions for their part scored 13 aces.
• The Tigers also scored more on the block with nine blocks to the Lions four. 
• Dig numbers were fairly even with the Tigers scooping 59 and the Lions 56.
Set 1
• The first set had more ties and lead changes than the other four sets combined, nine tie scores and six lead changes.
• Tied up at eight, GCU took the lead, 9-8, on an Amari Morales service ace.
• The two teams continued to trade points, until Holy Family went on an 8-2 run and jumped ahead 21-17.
• Georgian Court was unable to recover and a kill ended set one, 25-20 in favor of the Tigers.
Set 2
• Everything was going right for Holy Family in set two. Until it wasn't.
• They had all the momentum going up 19-6 and 21-9 and looked like they would cruise to a 2-0 lead.
• The Tigers did end up taking a 2-0 lead, but the Lions made them work for it.
• With Dayna Diaz serving, GCU scored 11 straight points, getting to within one, 21-20.
• They then scored another three straight as a Tiger attack error gave Georgian Court a 23-22 lead.
• But a service error, an ace on the other side and a kill allowed Holy Family to survive, 25-23.
Set 3
• The Tigers may have won the battle of set two, but the war was still going on and the Lions had all the juice on their side.
• GCU scored nine of the first 10 points for a commanding lead of their own.
• Between the end of set two and start of set three, Georgian Court was on a 23-5 run.
• Georgian Court was still up eight, 17-9, when the Tigers started to chip away at the lead.
• A 4-0 run got HFU within one, 19-18.
• The Tigers closed to within one a couple of times but that was as close as they got. A kill from Chelsea Ross and Giorgia Cappelletti service ace put the Lions on the board with a 25-21 win.
Set 4
• Just like set three, the Tigers couldn't get out of their own way to start set four and GCU scored the first six points. 
• And also like set three, HFU was able to weather that storm and crawl back to eventually get even at 12-apiece.
• Georgian Court was up two, 18-16, when they scored four straight, taking advantage of three HFU errors.
• Another Tiger error ended the set, 25-19 for the Lions.
Set 5
• Georgian Court knows their way around a fifth set. They scored four of the first five points and never trailed.
• Ahead 6-4, the Lions scored five straight, getting three kills from Nylene Mateo, plus a Dayna Diaz service aces and were up 10-4 in the blink of an eye.
• Holy Family scored three straight near the end to put a little scare into GCU at 14-11, but another Tiger error ended the match, 15-11 in favor of Georgian Court.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo led the offensive charge with 23 kills and seven digs.
• Giorgia Cappelletti had some family in attendance and recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. She also scored five service aces.
• Iciar Zayas dished out 28 assists with 13 digs.
• Dayna Diaz chipped in 18 assists, five digs and three aces.
• Chelsea Ross hit .300 with nine kills and two blocks.
• Amiyah Woods added six kills and Gabrielle Belony five.

For the Tigers
• Shelby Kinzer hit .350 with 15 kills to just one error and four digs.
• Jayden Bralts added 14 kills with five digs.
• Morgan Steck passed out 41 assists with 13 digs.
• Cadence Palmer picked up a game-high 18 digs.

News and Notes
• Georgian Court improves to 6-0 this season in five-set matches. It matches their most five-set wins since 2014.
• The only time in the NCAA era a GCU team had more than six five-set wins in a season was in 2013 when they won seven. 
• The Lions 13 CACC wins are their most since winning 16 in a 19-game conference schedule in 2019.
• The reverse sweep has become a calling card for the Lions. This is their fourth this season having also done so against Millersville, Pace and Dominican. Their third reverse sweep was already their most during the NCAA era. Now GCU is just adding to the total. 
• Georgian Court and Holy Family split the season series as the Lions improve to 23-25 all-time against the Tigers. The Tigers won the first five sets against GCU this season.
• Iciar Zayas surpassed 50 career service aces.
• Carmen Rivera dug up her 600th career dig.
• Chelsea Ross scored both her 600th career kill and 800th career point. 
• The three matches with the most service aces GCU allowed in the last 12 years have all come against Holy Family. The Tigers hit 18 tonight, they landed 17 last season and 19 back on Sept. 25, 2012.

Up Next
• Georgian Court finishes up the regular season Saturday, Nov. 16 when they play host to Jefferson with a special start time, 10 am. Not only is it the regular season finale, it's also senior day with GCU honoring their 2024 senior class. The match is a part of a triple header inside the Wellness Center with the Lions hosting Bloomsburg in women's and men's basketball nonconference action following the volleyball match.