GCU Athletics

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Oct. 27, 2026) - Georgian Court Volleyball has been playing their best of late and continued their winning ways to start the week. The Lions went to Holy Family Tuesday night, the No. 2 team in the CACC, and handed them a 3-1 loss, picking up their sixth win in their last eight games in the process.

How it Happened
• Georgian Court's offense was humming as they hit .241 for the match. The Lions landed 37 kills to just 13 attack errors.
• Holy Family meanwhile hit .094. They nearly matched the Lions with 43 kills, but hit 28 errors.
• Some of those Tiger errors were the result of nine GCU blocks. 
• The Lions were serving hard, putting down 14 aces. Holy Family, the top serving team in the conference, hit 11.
Set 1
• It was good to see Georgian Court come out of the gates strong.
• Tied at three, Georgian Court went on an 8-3 run and claimed an early five-point lead, 11-6. 
• The Lions pushed their lead to as much as eight, 23-15.
• With the Tigers on the ropes, HFU scored four straight to cut the lead in half, but a service error and an Ana Nikolic ace handed the Lions a 1-0 match lead.
Set 2
• The second set was the closest of the bunch, featuring 11 tie scores.
• Holy Family led by five, 12-7, and seemed to have a leg up on the frame, but the Lions rallied back.
• Georgian Court scored six straight points with four kills, three from Ava Churnesky and two Carmen Rivera Colon service aces as GCU went back on top, 13-12.
• Neither team went ahead by more than two points and Churnesky tied the set at 22 with a kill.
• Holy Family answered by scoring the final three points and evening the match at one set apiece.
Set 3
• After Holy Family scored the final three points in set two, GCU scored the first three in set three.
• The Lion lead didn't last long though as the Tigers quickly tied the set at three.
• Georgian Court built a 9-6 lead, but that only lasted a short while as HFU went on a 5-2 run to tie things at 11.
• A Tiger block gave HFU a small, 17-16 lead, but GCU then rattled off seven straight points to take a commanding 23-17 advantage.
• Ava Churnesky finished things off with a kill and the Lions led the match 2-1.
Set 4
• A service ace from Churnesky gave the Lions an early 4-1 lead as GCU looked to put the match away in four.
• Holy Family evened things up and no team had more than a two-point lead going deep into the set.
• Still tied at 15, Keira Mullen gave the Lions the lead with an ace which started a 3-0 GCU run.
• The lead was still at three, 23-20, when the Lions dropped the hammer with a block and a Mullen kill to pull off the win.

Lion Stat Leaders
• It was another big day for Ava Churnesky who hit .281 with 19 kills and seven digs.
• Ana Nikolic hit .360 with 10 kills and 18 digs.
• Keira Mullen totaled 15 points with eight kills, five aces and four blocks. She hit .389 for the match.
• Carmen Rivera Colon finished with a match-high 23 digs. She also helped out with six assists and three aces.
• Maggy Hallihan picked up a 21-assist, 12-dig double-double.
• Roshell Chevres Sanchez helped out with 18 assists.

For the Tigers
• Mackenzie Layton led HFU with 16 kills and added 15 digs.
• Gianna Dipilato added 12 kills and 13 digs.
• Mia Wise passed out a match-high 32 assists with 18 digs.

News and Notes
• The win means the Lions and Tigers split the season series for the fourth straight season. 
• It's the Lions first win at Holy Family since 2023.
• In their meeting in September, Holy Family, the No. 2 serving team in the country in terms of aces per set, hit 18 in three sets. The Lions serve receive performed much better allowing 11 in four sets.
• Maggy Hallihan surpassed 500 career assists in the win.
• The trio of Ava Churnesky, Ana Nikolic and Keira Mullen combined for 37 kills with just five errors and a .320 attack percentage.

Up Next
• Georgian Court returns home this weekend. They play host to Goldey-Beacom Saturday, Oct. 31 starting at 12 pm.