LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 21, 2024) - This weekend Georgian Court Volleyball is set to play in and host the CACC Tournament semifinals and finals. 

Opponents
No. 3 South Jefferson Rams (15-17, 9-7 CACC)
No. 1 North Post Eagles (19-10, 13-3 CACC)
No. 3 North Dominican Chargers (12-12, 8-8 CACC)

Where
Lakewood, NJ - GCU Wellness Center

When
Semifinals - Saturday, Nov. 23 - 12 pm (followed by Post and Dominican at 2:30)
Finals - Sunday, Nov. 24 - 12 pm

How to Watch
• All CACC Tournament matches are available via a free-to-view broadcast on the Georgial Court portal of CACC Digital Network, powered by HUDL. Live stats are available on the Lions Volleyball schedule page.

Ticketing
• Tickets for all Georgian Court home game can be found at the link above, or purchased in person prior to the game.
• $10 adults
• $5 seniors/students
• First 50 GCU students with ID get in FREE!

Previously vs. Jefferson
• Georgian Court and Jefferson have one of the better rivalries in the CACC.
• With their two wins earlier this season, the Lions have re-taken the all-time series lead at 22-21. 
• Interestingly, a pattern is developing between these two. Jefferson won five straight from 2016-2017. GCU then won five straight from 2018-2021 and Jefferson took the next five from 2021-2023. Georgian Court has now won back-to-back games.
• These teams met just last week in the regular season finale. 
• Georgian Court had a dominant performance in a three-set sweep.
• They took the opening set 25-11 and won sets two and three 25-20 and 29-27.
• Giorgia Cappelletti had a team-high 10 kills while Nylene Mateo and Chelsea Ross totaled nine. 

Previously vs. Post
• Georgian Court has won four of the last five against Post, but the Eagles survived for a 3-2 win last season in Connecticut.
• Post was also up 2-1 through three sets two weeks ago, but GCU won the fourth and fifth to win the match. 
• All-time Georgian Court is 18-13 against Post. They've actually performed better on the road where they're 9-5. Things are more even in Lakewood where GCU holds an 8-6 all-time lead.
• With each team taking one of the first two sets, Post won a close two-point set, 26-24 to get a lead.
• Georgian Court then won by two, 25-23 before winning the fifth, 15-11.
• Giorgia Cappelletti landed 17 kills in teh match with 13 kills while Nylene Mateo and Chelsea Ross each hit 14.

Previously vs. Dominican
• From 2012-2021, Georgian Court had won nine straight over Dominican.
• Each of the last four matches have gone back and fourth with GCU winning the last, 3-2.
• Dominican got on top of the Lions 2-0 before Georgian Court won each of the final for another reverse sweep victory. 
• Nylene Mateo landed 19 kills and hit .240 with 13 digs.
• The Chargers landed 11 service aces. 

Last Time Out
• Georgian Court advanced to the semifinals with a sweep of Felician.
• The Golden Falcons fought hard as the Lions won by a combined five points in sets one and two.
• GCU finished Felician off with a 25-17 win in set three.
• Nylene Mateo had a 12-kill, 10-dig double-double and the Lions hit .261 for the match. 

Individual Milestones
• Nylene Mateo is officially on program record watch. She's 15 kills away from setting a new Lions all-time record.
• Martina Croce is 12.5 points away from 500 and 10 kills short of 400. 
• Giorgia Cappelletti is up to fifth in single-season service aces with 70. Four more will move her to fourth and six more gets her to third. She also needs 7.5 points for 700. 
• Carmen Rivera is four aces away from 50. 

CACC Leaders (Based on NCAA Stats)
• Giorgia Cappelletti is second in the country and leads the CACC with 0.68 service aces per set. Her 70 total aces are also second in the nation
• Chelsea Ross is leading the league with 1.07 blocks per set and hitting percentage at .369. 
• Carmen Rivera is in the CACC top-10 at No. 7 for digs per set with 3.51.
• Iciar Zayas with 5.51 assists per set ranks eighth. 
• Nylene Mateo's 3.81 points per set is sixth in the conference. She's also seventh at 0.50 service aces per set. 
• Georgian Court is second in the CACC with 1.77 blocks per set.
• The Lions 2.26 aces per set is third in the league and 13th in Division II.
• GCU's 0.174 opponent hitting percentage is the fourth-best in the league. 

Who's Hot?
• Chelsea Ross has hit .300 or better in 15 of her last 18 matches including hitting .800 in the quarterfinals against Felician. 
• Giorgia Cappelletti has 10+ kills in a season-best five straight matches. 
• Nylene Mateo is averaging nearly 3.9 kills per set in her last eight matches. 
• Iciar Zayas has 20+ assists in three of her last four matches. 
• Emma Gildea has four kills and three blocks in her last two matches. 
• Dayna Diaz has at least 13 assists in nine straight matches. 

Three and Free, but Five is Okay Too
• After playing their share of long matches earlier in the season, Georgian Court is finishing things quick.
• Seven of the Lions last 11 matches have finished in three sets with the Lions going 6-1 in those three-set matches. 
• On the other hand, if matches do go long, Georgian Court is quite comfortable.
• The Lions are 6-0 in five-set games this year. They are also 8-8 when losing the first set. 

Home Cookin'
• This season, GCU is 12-2 at home and 7-7 everywhere else. 
• The good news for GCU, they'll be hosting throughout the CACC Tournament. 

The CACC Tournament
• Georgian Court is the top overall seed in this week's CACC Tournament after finishing with a league-best 14-2 record. 
• Georgian Court is set to host Jefferson in the semifinals with the winner playing the winner of Post and Dominican. 
• All-time in CACC Tournament games, the Lions are an impressive 26-11 with six Tournament Championships.
• The last CACC Tournament championship for the Lions came in 2019.
• In semifinal round games, the Lions are 7-5. 
• The Lions and Jefferson have met six times in the CACC postseason with the Lions holding a 5-1 advantage. 

All-CACC Team
• Earlier this week the CACC announced their 2024 All-Conference Team.
• The Lions put three on the All-CACC squad.
• Nylene Mateo was a First Team selection at outside hitter. Chelsea Ross made the Second Team at middle blocker and Giorgia Cappelletti was a Third Team Outside Hitter.
• In addition to the three that made the All-CACC team, second-year head coach Shana Rayside was named the league's Coach of the Year.
• Cappelletti and Mateo are the second pair of outside hitters to make the same All-CACC team. Mateo also becomes the seventh Lion to ever make three all-conference teams.
• Chelsea Ross is the first middle blocker at GCU with repeat selections since 2018-19. 

About Jefferson
• Jefferson, the preseason favorites in the CACC South Division, are not playing up to their usual standards.
• The Rams finished the regular season at 15-17 and 9-7 in the CACC.
• They've been hot of late though winning nine of their last 13.
• They defeated No. 2 seed in the North Bridgeport in straight sets Tuesday night to earn their place in the semifinals. 
• Jefferson is relying heavily on two offensive stars, Emily McKenna and Morgan Ritchie. Ritchie leads the team with 348 kills and 3.59 kills per set. McKenna has 321 kills this season and a team-best 47 service aces. 
• The offense runs through Caroline Bond who is passing out more than seven assists per set. 
• Cameron Johnson is among the league leaders with 3.97 digs per set. 
• The Rams have done a better job on the block in conference games where they average 1.89 per set compared to 1.54 overall. 

About Post
• Post had one of their best seasons in 2024 finishing 19-10 and 13-3 to earn the No. 1 seed in the North Division. 
• The Eagles swept Goldey-Beacom in the quarterfinals to make it to the semis. 
• Georgian Court put an end to their eight-game winning streak back on Nov. 9 and they stumbled down the stretch with a loss at Bridgeport before sweeping Bloomfield in the regular season finale. 
• The Eagles are led by their defense and CACC Defensive Player of the Year, junior Alyssa Groves, who's 6.95 digs per set lead all of Division II. The Eagles are sixth as a team in the nation averaging 19.06 digs per set.
• The offense is hitting .208 which is the second-highest in the CACC. 
• Kristina Peric has a team-best 367 kills while Caley Harper and Sara Enright each have more than 200.
• Maria Fernanda-Branco has been the primary setter with 6.10 assists per set.
• Post averages more than 1.8 service aces per set led by Groves' 40, but they have four servers with more than 30 aces. 

About Dominican
• At exactly. 500, 12-12 overall and 8-8 in the CACC, Dominican has had their series of ups and downs.
• The Chargers split their first two games of the season, then have flipped wins and losses again all season. 
• They're currently on a high with a three-set sweep of Caldwell to finish the regular season.
• They had the only CACC quarterfinal match to move past three sets, coming back from down 2-1 to defeat the No. 2 seed in the South Division, Chestnut Hill, 3-2. 
• The Chargers have struggled on the road this season where they're just 5-8, but have some impressive road wins, including Tuesday in the quarterfinals. 
• As a team, Dominican is hitting .198 which is third in the CACC. 
• Kaitlyn Carr leads the offense with 320 kills and 3.40 kills per set. That kills per set is fourth in the CACC. 
• Kaeden Sanstead is the primary setter with nine assists per set as the Chargers seem to have moved to a one-setter rotation. 
• Linda Armao Peng leads the Chargers with 4.12 digs per set.
• Despite advancing to the CACC semifinals, Dominican did not have any All-CACC selections.