MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 16, 2024) - Statcast may not be around yet for Division II Women's Volleyball, but you don't need it to know that down 0-2 on the road at Millersville, Georgian Court's win percentage was not very high. But there's more to the game than numbers and the Lions defied the odds with a thrilling comeback win, taking the final three set for a 3-2, five-set win (23-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17. 15-13). The win is the Lions second in a row and puts them a 2-3 on the season.

How it Happened
• Georgian Court led most of the statistical categories. They hit .269 to the Marauders .239 and landed three more kills, 62-59.
• On the serve, GCU was a +9 putting down four more aces and hitting five fewer errors.
• Defensively, Millersville put back one more block, 6-5, but the Lions scooped 80 digs to Millersville's 72.
Set 1
• The teams went back and forth a bit at the start of the first set. Neither team held much of a lead and the set was still tied at 11.
• Millersville went on a 7-3 run and took their largest lead, 18-14.
• Still down four, Georgian Court scored three straight with kills from Nylene Mateo and Giorgia Cappelletti and a Cappelletti service ace to get to within one, 23-22. But the Marauders held on scoring a block for a 25-23 set one win.
Set 2
• The Lions scored the first three points of set two for an early lead. The lead didn't last long though as Millersville used a 6-2 run to take their first lead.
• With the Marauders up one, they scored four straight to take their largest lead, 12-7.
• They started to runaway with the set, eventually get up 10, 18-8.
• The Lions nearly made their first comeback, using a 13-4 run, getting to within one, 22-21.
• They ran out of steam near the end though and the Marauders once again held on, scoring the final three for a 25-22 win.
Set 3
• The third set was all Georgian Court. They got on top early and never trailed.
• Dayna Diaz with a service ace gave the Lions a nine-point lead, 16-7.
• Another service ace ended the set and gave the Lions a set three win. Kylie Runyon landed that and kept Georgian Court alive.
Set 4
• Just like set three, the Lions never trailed in set four, meaning they went the entirety of two sets without ever trailing.
• An Amiyah Woods kill put GCU up five, 7-2.
• Millersville cut the lead down to one, 8-7, but that was as close as they got. Georgian Court turned a one-point lead into a nine-point lead with a 10-2 run.
• The Marauders never recovered and Chelsea Ross tied the match at two with a kill.
Set 5
• It looked like set five might be like the previous two as GCU scored the first three points, with a Ross kill and two Marauder errors.
• Millersville responded though and quickly tied the final set at three before eventually taking a 6-4 lead.
• After the Lions retied at seven, the Marauders scored three straight for a 10-7 lead and appeared in control of the set.
• They were still up three, 12-9, but the Lions came too far to give up now. They scored four of the next five to tie the set at 13 and then a Marauder attack error and a kill from Martina Croce completed the comeback, 15-13 for the Lions.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo led all scorers with 18 points. She picked up 11 digs for a double-double as well, along with two blocks and a service ace.
• Giorgia Cappelletti had a 14-kill, 18-dig double-double with four aces.
• Martina Croce chipped in nine kills.
• Dayna Diaz had a double-double of her own with 24 assists and 14 digs.
• Amari Morales helped out with 22 assists and eight digs.
• Carmen Rivera led the Lion defense with 24 digs.
• Chelsea Ross added seven kills and three blocks.
• Amiyah Woods tallied six kills as well.

For the Marauders
• Emma Kerwin finished with a team-best 17 kills while adding 10 digs.
• Taylor Welter totaled 14 kills hitting .286.
• Kylee Schurig had a 13-kill, 13-dig double-double.
• Madison Von Neida led the Marauders with 21 digs.
• Emma Ludwig passed out a match-high 48 assists with 16 digs.

News and Notes
• This is the Lions first comeback win after being down 2-0 in a little more than three years. They last pulled this off Sept. 11, 2021 at home against West Chester.
• This was the Lions first five-set match of the season.
• Giorgia Cappelletti surpassed 400 career points.
• The Lions had a number of season-highs in the five-set win: kills, assists, service aces and digs. 
• Amari Morales had a career-high 22 assists. 
• This was the first time the Lions have defeated the Marauders in five attempts.

Up Next
• Georgian Court starts conference play Wednesday at home as they host Chestnut Hill the 18th at 6 p.m.