WALTHAM, Ma. (Dec. 5, 2024) - It's been five years since Georgian Court Volleyball was in the NCAA East Region Tournament, and even longer since they won their quarterfinal round game. That all changed Thursday afternoon with the Lions, the No. 7 seed, pulling off the upset of No. 2 Daemen in five sets. Georgian Court fell behind after the first set, then won the next two before Daemen forced a decisive fifth set. The Wildcats held match-point, but Georgian Court looked elimination in the eye and refused to blink, scoring the final three points to set the set and the match. 

How it Happened
• Daemen finished the match hitting .229 to the Lions .185.
• Where Georgian Court made up points though was at the service line. GCU was a +17 at the line landing seven more aces and hitting 10 fewer errors.
• GCU was also more effective on the block where they put down 12 to the Wildcats seven.
• Daemen's defense kept them in with 60 digs, while the Lions picked up 46. 
Set 1
• Things were very tight at the start. Georgian Court grabbed an early 6-3 lead getting kills from Nylene Mateo, Chelsea Ross, Giorgia Cappelletti and a Dayna Diaz service ace.
• Daemen hung around and tied the set up at 10 with a kill.
• That point started a 7-0 run for the Wildcats who grabbed control of the set.
• The Lions cut the lead down to four, but couldn't get any closer and the Wildcats finished the frame on a 15-6 run to take an early 1-0 lead.
• Daemen hit .429 in the set with 18 kills.
Set 2
• Tied early at five, the Lions took control with a 5-0 run.
• Cappelletti had three kills and Mateo landed an ace during the run.
• The lead stayed around five until Cappelletti hit back-to-back aces. That pushed the lead to 15-8 and forced a Wildcat timeout. 
• Cappelletti made it three straight aces before the Wildcats were finally able to sideout.
• But Georgian Court finished strong. They opened up a 10-point lead, 22-12, on a Wildcat attack error and the rout was on.
• They maintained that 10 point lead and evened the match with a 25-15 set two win.
• Georgian Court, after hitting just .033 in set one, hit .385 in the second.
Set 3
• Daemen took the first two-point lead in the set, 6-4. 
• But things got right back on track with the Lions scoring two straight to tie at six and things were still even at 13.
• The Lions went on a bit of a run, grabbing a 16-13 lead helped out by two Carmen Rivera service aces as Daemen called a timeout.
• A kill from Mateo extended the lead to five, 19-14, and the Wildcats called their second timeout.
• The Wildcats never regrouped and once again the Lions were able to cruise to another 25-15 set win.
• GCU finished the set scoring 13 of the final 15 points.
Set 4
• Once again it was back-and-forth at the outset.
• The teams were trading points with the score tied at 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9.
• Daemen used a 4-0 run to take their largest lead, 12-9, and forced a Lions timeout. 
• Out of the break, the Lions responded right away scoring three to re-tie at 12.
• Tied at 17, the Wildcats caught a break when the Lions over pass hit the jumbotron on the way over. That gave them an 18-17 lead and started a short 3-0 run as they went up 20-17.
• The Wildcats held the lead and forced a fifth set with a 25-20 win.
Set 5
• Back-to-back service aces from Martina Croce gave the Lions their first lead in set five, 6-5.
• Another Lion service ace, this time from Mateo, gave GCU an 8-7 lead as the teams switched sides of the court.
• GCU extended the lead to 9-7 and Daemen needed a timeout. 
• The Wildcats clawed back, tying at nine and at 10 and eventually taking an 11-10 lead as the Lions called a timeout.
• Once again the teams were trading points and Daemen held match-point, 15-14. 
• A service error, the Wildcats 17th of the match tied the set at 15 before back-to-back blocks with Woods and Mateo getting the first and Woods and Croce the second put the match away for the Lions. 

Lions Stat Leaders
• Giorgia Cappelletti hit .343 with 14 kills and eight digs. She also landed four service aces.
• Nylene Mateo was also in double-figures with 11 kills.
• Martina Croce scored seven kills with three aces, and four blocks.
• Iciar Zayas passed out 22 assists.
• Carmen Rivera led GCU with 15 digs. 
• Amiyah Woods and Chelsea Ross each totaled six blocks. 

For the Wildcats
• Abby Ryan landed a game-high 20 kills and hit .333.
• Nahirka Malpica added 13 kills and 12 digs.
• Molly Ryan picked up 24 assists and Avery Dole added 22.
• Jasmine Brundage tallied a game-high 19 digs. 

News and Notes
• The match featured a total of 39 ties and 19 lead changes.
• The fifth set alone saw nine ties and seven lead changes while sets three and four each had at least 10 tie scores. 
• Already the all-time leader in kills, Nylene Mateo surpassed 1400 in her career.
• Amiyah Woods moved up to eighth all-time at GCU in career blocks. 
• Chelsea Ross moved to a tie for fifth in single-season blocks. 
• Carmen Rivera eclipsed 400 digs this season.
• This was Georgian Court's first ever win over Daemen in their second ever match.
• The last time GCU advanced to the East Region semifinal was in 2008. 
• Georgian Court is now 7-0 this season in five set matches. The seven five-set wins matches a program record in the NCAA era. 
• This is also the Lions ninth this season win when losing the first set. 
• The Lions 15 service aces are a season-high.
• Giorgia Cappelletti moves into a tie for second in single-season service ace becoming just the third Lion to ever reach 80 in a single-season. 

Quoteable 
Shana Rayside
Opening Statement
I have no words right now. This team never fails to surprise me every time we go into these five set matches. They're hungry and aggressive and I love watching them play. I'm very proud.

On advancing to the Regional Semifinals for the first time since 2008
Why not this team? They're all go-getters. They're all aggressive. They all trust each other so much and support each other so much, so why not them?

On what she said to her team down 15-14 in set 5
We're comfortable in those positions. I just told them 'take a deep breath. we've been here plenty of times this season. You've had a phenomenal match. There's nothing that they're doing that we haven't seen already.' Calm, cool, confidence as Coach Ulrich likes to say. We trusted each other and that's all I had to say and they went out there and did it. 

On improving to 7-0 this season in five-set matches
• You should ask the girls, because I think they like to see me freaking out on the sideline.
• They never doubted each other. They know everyone on the bench is supporting them whether they make an error or not, that's what motivates us. 

On what she took as a player in the regional in 2019 that she used to prepare her team as a coach in 2024
Even after winning conference it's the same feeling as a player and a coach, but a little more heightened. The way this team is, reminds me of that 2019 team. My upperclassmen have been guiding the underclassmen and deserve a special mention. For me it's surreal, I get chills thinking about going from a player to a coach. It's been awesome. I love it. 

On handling the long break between games because of the Thanksgiving holiday
We did have a couple of days off, but the girls were still watching film and preparing. We weren't preparing on the court, but they were preparing outside. The last three days before traveling up here was a lot instruction, a lot of intense practices.

Giorgia Cappelletti
On what changed heading into set two
We went strong and we played for each other, every point. If we stick to plays that work for us, we can beat any team. We worked together and our chemistry is so good that everything started to flow. 

On the importance of the service line in today's game
Every single timeout I was talking to my teammates saying, 'We need to keep serving tough. This is our biggest strength.' So many of our servers are very good. We keep teams out of system and our blocks and defense improve as a result. I think serving is one of our biggest strengths. 

On improving to 7-0 this season in five-set matches
I think five-set matches is our thing this season. The way we look at each other after losing set four and needing to go to set five, that's what we've done all season. That's what we're going to do today too, just win in five. 

Nylene Mateo
On being the inexperienced team in the field
We want it. We're fighting for it. We don't focus on their experience, we just focus on ourselves. 

On slowing down Daemen after set one where they hit 18 kills
Our blocks. We were really focusing on pressing and being in the right spot and it really sets everything else in motion. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court knows when they play again, but they don't know who just yet. They'll be back on the floor tomorrow at 4 pm against either No. 3 seed American International or No. 6 seed Mercy. 

Update
The Lions now know they'll be taking on No. 3 seed American International after they swept Mercy in their quarterfinal round match.