LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 23, 2024) - Georgian Court Volleyball is now a win away from their seventh CACC Tournament Championship. The Lions earned their spot in the finals thanks to a 3-1 win over Jefferson (25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 25-19). The win gives GCU 20 for the season and is their seventh in a row.

How it Happened
• Jefferson outhit the Lions for the match hitting .221 to the Lions .206.
• The service line was a big advantage for GCU. The Lions were a +10 at the line with nine more service aces and one fewer error.
• Defensive numbers were about even with the Lions getting down one more block, 9-8 and Jefferson a couple more digs, 58-55.
• Georgian Court also gave up a lot of points on unforced errors. They were called for five blocking errors and three ball-handling errors. 
Set 1
• The first set was the closest with 11 ties and four lead changes.
• Jefferson had the very early lead at 3-1, but the Lions came back with four straight for a 5-3 lead. Giorgia Cappelletti started the spurt with an ace and Nylene Mateo followed with her first two kills in what was eventually an historic afternoon for Mateo.
• The Rams hung around and the match was as late as 18-18.
• A double-hit on the Rams and an attack error gave the Lions a lead they never gave back.
• Carmen Rivera got the Lions to set point, 24-21, and following two Ram points, Mateo's eight kill of the set ending things at 25-23. 
Set 2
• Jefferson wanted that first set and the let down carried over into set two where the Lions scored the first six points and went up 12-1.
• The Rams eventually settled down, but it was too little, too late.
• The set scored ended 25-19, following a block from Chelsea Ross and Emma Gildea, but the set was never as close as even the six-point difference may indicate.
Set 3
• Even though the Rams fell behind 0-2, they outscored GCU 18-13 after getting down 12-1 in set two.
• This time in a positive way, the Rams had that momentum carry over into set three.
• Tied at 10, Jefferson went on an 8-1 run to take their largest lead of the match, 18-11.
• Georgian Court never recovered and Jefferson got back into the match with a 25-16 win.
• The Rams hit .433 in the frame with 15 kills and just two errors.
Set 4
• Jefferson's only lead in set four was at 1-0, but it was close throughout.
• An Emma Gildea kill made it 12-8 Lions, but Jefferson responded with a 7-3 run to tie back at 15-15.
• Still tied at 18, Georgian Court took over starting with a kill from Ross. That started a 4-0 run, capped off by an Iciar Zayas service aces to put GCU ahead for good.
• Cappelletti finished it with a service ace and another tough serve that lead to an attack error to seal the victory.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo hit a team-high 18 kills and hit .300 for the match along with 13 digs and three blocks.
• Giorgia Cappelletti also picked up a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs along with five service aces.
• Martina Croce added seven kills, five digs and three blocks.
• Chelsea Ross and Amiyah Woods each landed four kills. Ross added five blocks and Woods four.
• Iciar Zayas dished out 28 assists. Dayna Diaz added 14.
• Carmen Rivera scooped up 12 digs. 

For the Rams
• Morgan Ritchie finished with a game-high 21 kills on 50 attempts. She also secured 11 digs.
• Emily McKenna added 13 kills and Morgan Martin 12.
• Caroline Bond passed out 21 assists with 21 digs.

News and Notes
• Georgian Court went 3-0 against Jefferson this season. They also accomplished that in 2008 and 2009.
• In the CACC Tournament, GCU is now 6-1 all-time against the Rams. They're also now leading the all-time series 23-21. 
• All-time in the CACC Tournament, Georgian Court is 27-11. They improve to 8-5 all-time in semifinal round games.
• The Lions last CACC Tournament Finals appearance came in 2019, when they won 3-1 over Holy Family.
• It was an historic day not just for the Lions returning to the CACC Tournament Finals, but for Nylene Mateo as well.
• Mateo is now the Lions all-time program leader in kills. She has 1,383 and counting. 
• Giorgia Cappelletti moved to fourth all-time in a single-season for service aces.

Quoteable
Nylene Mateo
On advancing to the CACC Tournament Finals
• I'm excited. A little emotional. But really excited and determined to win tomorrow. We all are.

On breaking the Georgian Court all-time kills record
• It means a lot. I didn't even know this record was within reach until mid-season. I'm really excited about it. I wasn't focusing on it but to have it feels awesome.

On the team's mindset heading into set 4
• Set three we weren't playing our best. It wasn't us. Coach Rayside really motivated us and we had a good talk before set four and we knew it was our game. No question about it. 

Shana Rayside
On Nylene Mateo and breaking the GCU career kills record
• What stands out is how she leads the underclassmen. We know she's a good player on the court, but off the court she's always leading them to be their best too, so everyone just looks up to her.

On defeating Jefferson for the third time this season
• I just reminded them, Jefferson is a really good team. We cannot look past them and they knew that's what we had to do.

On the message heading into set four
• I liked our response to start set four. We're always good at responding so when we're in those ruts, we need to find a way to get out of them.

On heading back to the CACC Tournament Finals
• It's so surreal. I'm really looking forward to it, but it's so surreal. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court looks to raise their seventh CACC Volleyball Tournament Championship banner tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. They'll take on the top seed from the North Division Post, who defeated Dominican 3-1 in the semifinals.