WEST CHESTER, Pa. (Sept. 5, 2025) - Georgian Court Volleyball began the 2025 season Friday afternoon with consecutive games against Charleston and West Chester. The Lions, with lots of new faces, were downed in each game falling 3-0 (15-25, 21-25, 14-25) to Charleston and 3-0 to West Chester (16-25, 20-25, 14-25).

Game 1 - Charleston 3, Georgian Court 0 (15-25, 21-25, 14-25)
How it Happened
• Charleston hit .352 overall with 36 kills against just 11 errors. The Lions hit .071 with 26 kills and 20 attack errors.
• Play around the net was a huge problem for Georgian Court. They had just one block in the match while the Golden Eagles put back eight.
• On the serve, Georgian Court picked up eight aces, but also hit into eight service errors. Charleston landed nine aces against just five errors.
Set One
• Georgian Court scored the first two points, both coming from Genesis Simanca with a kill and a service ace.
• After that though, it was all Charleston. They scored six straight to take a 6-2 lead and led the rest of the way.
• Still trailing by four, 10-6, Georgian Court saw the Golden Eagles score four straight.
• The Lions were unable to get any closer and Charleston took a 1-0 set lead with a 25-15 win. 
Set Two
• Georgian Court got down big early again in set two, but this time mounted a comeback.
• The Golden Eagles took a commanding 8-2 lead following a service ace to force a Lions timeout.
• GCU then used a 7-3 run to get back to within two, 11-9.
• The lead was still two at 15-13 when Charleston rattled off five straight for a 20-13 lead.
• But there was GCU again to answer with five straight of their own, the last three points all coming from Carmen Rivera service aces, to bring it back to a two-point game, 20-18.
• Charleston needed a timeout and out of the break outscored the Lions 25-21 to take a 2-0 match lead.
Set Three
• The third set started out close, a change from the first two.
• A kill from Addison Wellington made it a one-point game, 9-8, but then the Golden Eagles went on a run.
• Charleston used a 5-1 stretch to go up by five, 14-9. They then closed the match outscoring the Lions 9-2 to take the third set 25-14 and sweep the match in three sets.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Genesis Simanca finished with a game-high 10 kills. She also scored three service aces.
• Iciar Zayas passed out 24 assists.
• Carmen Rivera totaled nine digs and three aces, all three aces happened on consecutive serves. 
• Kyla Davis and Emily Hauptvogel each added six kills. 

For the Golden Eagles
• Patrycja Majos led the team with eight kills and hit .429 for the match with three aces.
• Sophia Knowles knocked five kills in seven attempts.
• Abby Avila played in just two sets and passed out a team-best 19 assists with a service ace, two digs and three blocks.
• Chloe Fortner led the squad with six digs.
• Kate Strong picked up four kills and five blocks.

Game 2 - West Chester 3, Georgian Court 0 (16-25, 20-25, 14-25)
How it Happened
• The Lion offense hit more errors, 20, than kills, 19 for a -.012 attack percentage. West Chester was over .300 in two of the three sets and hit .297 overall.
• West Chester was going all-in on serve attempts with 11 aces but 12 errors. The Lions were a positive on the serve with six aces to just four errors.
• Defensively, GCU was out-blocked 5-2 and their 36 digs were eight below West Chester's 44. 
Set One
• West Chester scored the first three points of the match and never trailed in the set.
• They raced out to an 8-3 lead before a mid-set 7-0 run turned a 14-8 deficit into a 21-8 one.
• Georgian Court closed the set scoring seven of the final 10 points, but it wasn't enough as West Chester took set one, 25-16.
• West Chester hit better than .300 for the frame, while the Lions totaled eight kills and eight attack errors.
Set Two
• Georgian Court quickly built an early lead scoring the first three points in the set.
• They led by as much as four, 9-5, but were unable to hang on.
• The Golden Rams chipped away, tying the set multiple times, before taking their first lead, 15-14, from a service ace.
• That ace started a 6-1 run for West Chester who held the lead the rest of the way.
• They closed the set scoring 12 of the final 19 points and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-20 set win. 
Set Three
• For the second straight set, GCU got out fast and scored the first three points.
• And also for the second straight set, it was a lead the Lions couldn't hold. West Chester then went on a 6-1 run and took the lead right back.
• The Golden Rams put the hammer down scoring five straight and seven of eight to take a 13-7 lead they never gave up.
• West Chester finished the game with a pair of service aces, winning the third set 25-14.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Genesis Simanca totaled five kills and nine digs.
• Carmen Rivera was in double-figures with 10 digs.
• Iciar Zayas picked up 17 assists with two aces and three digs.
• Ava Churnesky chipped in five kills and five digs.

For the Goldens Rams
• Zoe Haines hit .304 with 10 kills and four blocks.
• Abiah Lane approached a double-double with eight kills and seven digs.
• Lacie Brown averaged nine assists per set, passing out 27 and had a double-double with a match-high 14 digs.

News and Notes
• Iciar Zayas surpassed 2,000 career assists, just the fourth Lion to do that in the NCAA era.
• Carmen Rivera picked up her 50th career service ace.
• Among the Lions who made their GCU debut: Ava Churnesky, Maggy Hallihan, Saige Harvey, Genesis Simanca and Addison Wellington. 
• West Chester returned the favor to GCU who swept the Golden Rams in Lakewood a season ago. They're now 4-11 all-time against West Chester.
• This was the Lions first ever match with Charleston. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court will stay in West Chester for another match tomorrow. They square off with Millersville at 1 pm.