GCU Athletics

LAKEWOOD, NJ (Oct. 31, 2026) - The first two sets between Georgian Court Volleyball were scary close with each team picking up a comeback win. Goldey-Beacom though pulled away in sets three and four to ultimately take the match from the Lions, 3-1.

How it Happened
• Goldey-Beacom hit .286 for the match and hit better than .240 in all four sets.
• The Lightning hit 53 kills to 13 errors, while Georgian Court landed 50 kills but also hit 24 attack errors.
• Georgian Court gave away points at the service line. The Lightning hit one more ace, 9-8, but GCU hit 11 service errors to the Lightning's five.
• Goldey-Beacom also had a big advantage along the back row with 72 digs to the Lions 60.
• The Lions put back more blocks, 6-4.
Set 1
• Georgian Court came out of the gates strong, scoring five of the first six points to take an early lead.
• The Lions built their lead to as much as seven, 11-4, but the Lightning began to chip away.
• GBC scored five straight to make it a two-point game and the set hovered around that two-point advantage the rest of the way.
• Georgian Court still led by four, 21-17, when Goldey-Beacom made one final push. They scored six straight and took their first lead since 1-0 with a service ace to go up 22-21.
• Tied at 23 following an Ava Churnesky kill, the Lightning finished off the set with a kill and another ace, completing the comeback and going up 1-0 in the match.
Set 2
• The second set saw plenty of outstanding volleyball. The teams combined to hit 34 kills and just four errors, while both squads were over a .350 attack percentage for the set.
• This time it was Georgian Court's turn to play from behind as Goldey-Beacom led early, 6-3.
• GCU rallied with six straight points, getting three kills and three Ana Nikolic service aces and took a three-point lead of their own, 9-6.
• Goldey-Beacom came right back to tie and three straight kills forced a GCU timeout at 14-11 Lightning.
• The Lightning still led by three, 20-17, looking to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Ziahna Frazier hit consecutive kills to make it a one-point game and Churnesky tied the set at 21.
• Tied again at 22, Keira Mullen hit two kills to give the Lions the lead, and at set point, 24-23, she ended it with her fifth kill of the set on just six swings, tying the match at one win apiece.
Set 3
• The third set started out much the same, with the teams battling in a close game early.
• Georgian Court held a 9-8 lead, but after GBC sided out, it was all Lightning the rest of the way.
• That tying point started a 6-1 run that saw Goldey-Beacom go up four, 14-10.
• They didn't stop until the final point was scored. The Lightning finished the set on a 17-4 run and won the pivotal third set, 25-13.
Set 4
• The fourth set saw more ties and lead changes than any other - eight ties and four lead changes, but most of those came early on.
• The scored was tied at every point from 1-4 and then again from 7-9.
• It looked like the Lions were on the verge of pulling away, going up 12-9, but the Lightning started to chip away.
• They tied the set at 14 and similar to set three, emphatically closed out the set.
• Goldey-Beacom ended the game with a 13-2 run, winning set four 25-16.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Keira Mullen hit .464 with 15 kills, seven digs and three aces.
• Ava Churnesky landed a game-high 16 kills with eight digs.
• Maggy Hallihan passed out a game-high 26 assists to go along with seven digs.
• Ziahna Frazier scored six points with five kills and two blocks.
• Ana Nikolic hit five kills and four aces.
• Carmen Rivera Colon posted 21 digs.

For the Lightning
• GBC spread the ball around but were led by Kelci Gingras' 14 kills and .314 attack percentage. She also had 12 digs for a double-double.
• Gabi Fullwood totaled nine kills, three aces and eight digs.
• Brianna Anderson picked up 17 digs with eight assists.
• Etta Harris chipped in 10 kills.
• Ashley Fru had a 17-dig, 10-assists double-double. 

News and Notes
• Ava Churnesky reached 50 career service aces.
• Keira Mullen's .464 attack percentage was her highest this season. 
• Goldey-Beacom sweeps the season series from GCU for the second straight season.
• Georgian Court entered the match 4-2 when playing on Halloween and had won two straight before Saturday. 

Up Next
• Georgian Court has one final road game left this season. They play at Chestnut Hill Wednesday, Nov. 4 starting at 7 pm.