WILMINGTON, Del. (Sept. 24, 2024) - Georgian Court Volleyball remains unbeaten in CACC play with a hard-fought 3-1 win at Wilmington. Three of the first four sets were determined by just two points and GCU ran away in set four, 25-16 to improve to 4-4 and 2-0 in the CACC.

How it Happened
• The Lions scored 15 more total points, 60-54.
• Georgian Court's defense kep the Wildcats hitting below .100 at .063 and hit .148 themselves.
• GCU was up 10-7 in both service aces and total blocks.
Set 1
• After a bit of a feeling out at the start, Georgian Court went on a mini run to take a 7-4 lead.
• Wilmington responded with three straight to even the set at seven, but the Lions then scored six straight, going up 13-7 and forcing a Wildcat timeout.
• The Wildcats fought back though and an 11-4 run gave the Wildcats a one-point lead, 18-17.
• A kill from Amiyah Woods gave GCU a 19-18 lead, but that quickly disappeared.
• The set remained tight and a block from Chelsea Ross and Martina Croce forced another Wilmington timeout with the Lions back up one, 23-22.
• Once again tied at 23, a Wildcat service error followed by an attack error gave the Lions a 25-23 set one victory.
Set 2
• Wilmington took a big lead at the outset of the second set, taking a seven-point lead, 11-4.
• Georgian Court slowly crept back into the set but the Wildcats were keeping them just off the lead.
• The Lions tied the set at 15 and a Giorgia Cappelletti kill gave GCU their first lead, 18-17.
• The two teams traded points and the lead back-and-forth and just like set one, was tied at 23.
• Still tied at 25, Wilmington got a pair of kills and evened up the set with a 27-25 win.
Set 3
• The Wildcats jumped out to an even bigger lead in set three. They scored eight of the first nine points and forced and early Lion timeout.
• Georgian Court did their best to get back into the set. Following a timeout they used a 5-1 run to get to within three, 9-6.
• It looked like Wilmington might run away with the set as they went back on top by seven, 17-10, but then GCU scored five straight and Wilmington called timeout up just two, 17-15.
• The Lions came all the way back to tie the set at 18 after a Wildcat attack error.
• Still tied at 19, Georgian Court scored four straight for a 23-19 lead. 
• Wilmington got back to within one, 24-23, but following a Lions timeout, a service error ended the set at 25-23 in favor of the Lions.
Set 4
• After thrilling comeback win in set three, GCU kept that momentum going scoring five of the first six points.
• Wilmington came back to tie the frame at five, but after the Lions took a 10-7 lead, it was all GCU.
• The Wildcats kept it to three, 19-16, but Georgian Court scored the final six points and Nylene Mateo's service ace finished off the match, 25-19 for the Lions.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Nylene Mateo finished with a game-high 17 kills and was two digs shy of a double-double.
• Martina Croce, Amiyah Woods and Chelsea Ross and landed seven kills. Ross added five blocks and Woods four.
• Dayna Diaz passed out 20 assists with eight digs. Amari Morales chipped in 10.
• Carmen Rivera scooped up 16 digs.

For the Wildcats
• Eliza Schneider hit 14 kills.
• Karalyn Osborne had a team-best 16 digs along with six kills.
• Claudia Melendez totaled 20 assists. 

News and Notes
• The Lions start 2-0 in CACC play for the first time since 2021.
• This was the Lions first win in Wilmington since 2017. They had dropped their previous five matches in Delaware.
• Dayna Diaz surpassed 600 career assists.
• Chelsea Ross moved to sixth all-time at GCU in total blocks. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court goes out of conference to take on Queens in Queens this Friday, Sept. 27 with a 7 pm first serve.