GCU Athletics

FLUSHING, NY (Sept. 17, 2026) - Georgian Court Volleyball nearly pulled off a major comeback Thursday night in New York. After getting down 2-0, the Lions evened the match to force a fifth frame. The comeback wasn't to be though as Queens survived with a two-point win in set five to take the match 3-2.

How it Happened
• The final numbers show a game that was very close. Georgian Court outhit the Knights .117-.097.
• The Knights put back two more kills, 46-44, but also hit four more errors, 32-28.
• Block numbers were dead even at nine apiece.
• Queens picked up a couple more points on the serve. The Lions hit 16 aces, but also 11 errors. The Knights put down 13 aces to just six serve aces.
• The dig numbers were just as close, 55-53, in favor of the Knights.
Set 1
• The Lions started out well and took an early lead.
• Queens came back and used an 8-0 run to get out in front, 14-8. The Knights landed just one kill during that stretch and three straight aces to close it out.
• Georgian Court finally put the ball back over the net and ended the run and began to chip away the Knights lead.
• The Knights were still up five, 22-17, but the Lions have shown they're not easy to put away.
• GCU scored six straight and took their first lead since 8-7 at 23-22. 
• Queens rallied though getting a kill to tie, another to take the lead and a third straight to end the set, 25-23.
Set 2
• The teams traded points in the early going of set two and Queens found themselves ahead, 14-13.
• That's when the Knights took over. They closed the set on an 11-2 run and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-15 win.
Set 3
• Georgian Court responded with a 25-15 win of their own in set three to keep the match alive.
• Tied at five, the Lions scored nine of the next 10 points.
• The Lions took advantage of four Knights errors during the run and took a commanding 14-6 lead.
• GCU extended the lead to 10 and the Knights never recovered.
• Back-to-back blocks, with Flavia Pecora having a hand in each, ended the set in favor of the Lions.
Set 4
• Queens came out strong, looking to finish the game in four sets.
• They scored five of the first six points to race out to a 5-1 lead.
• A kill by Ana Nikolic tied the set at 10 and Ava Churnesky's ace gave the Lions their first lead one point later.
• Tied again at 12, the Lions took over scoring four straight and never trailed again.
• Kills by Kathymar Laboy Negron and Churnesky forced a fifth set with a 25-18 Lions win.
Set 5
• Despite playing to just 15, the set still saw five tie scores.
• Queens again took an early lead, this time jumping out to a 4-1 advantage.
• Georgian Court was able to come back and take a 7-6 lead following a block, but were unable to extend it.
• Tied again at eight, Queens scored four straight, with three points from GCU errors.
• Down to match point, 14-9, the Lions nearly forced extra points. GCU got to within one, 14-13, scoring four straight. Churnesky was responsible for a kill and two service aces.
• After a timeout, Churnesky couldn't make it three straight aces and a service error ended the game, 15-13.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Ava Churnesky totaled 20 points with 14 kills, five aces and two blocks. She was also a dig-short of a double-double.
• Flavia Pecora hit .692 with nine kills and no errors on 13 attempts. She also finished off six blocks and hit three aces.
• Maggy Hallihan passed out a team-best 21 assists. Roshell Chevres Sanchez added 15.
• Carmen Rivera Colon picked up 22 digs with two aces.
• Ana Nikolic chipped in six kills and five digs.

For the Knights
• Zoe Sercu had a 15-kill, 13-dig double-double.
• Mikayla Haskell also hit 15 kills with two aces and two blocks.
• Kaiya Banks finished with a game-high 24 assists. She added two kills, two aces, five digs and three blocks as well.
• Asuka Shubue led the Knights with 20 digs.

News and Notes
• Queens evens the all-time series at 10-10 with their second straight win.
• Flavia Pecora scored her 100th point of the season.
• Ava Churnesky matched a career high with five aces. 
• The Lions 16 aces are their most in a match this season. It's their most in a match since landing 18 against Bowie State three years ago in September of 2023.
• The match featured 25 tie scores and 17 lead changes. 

Up Next
• The Lions come home to Lakewood this weekend. They take on Monroe Saturday, September 19 at 3:30 pm.