Tigers fall in 5 sets to open NAIA Pool Play
Georgetown opened NAIA pool play on Wednesday against Saint Xavier (IL), a team the Tigers swept in the regular season. Georgetown got off to a start that many believed would lead to another sweep, but SXU had other ideas. Saint Xavier rallied from an 0-2 hole to knock off Georgetown, 3-2.
Set 1 proved this match would be quite different than the 3-0 win for Georgetown earlier in the year. The opener saw the lead change hands 19 times and had 10 ties. It would need many extra points as neither side could convert on the first 10 set point opportunities. With the set tied at 33, SXU committed its 6th service error to give the Tigers another chance to close it out. Kacper Dobrowolski was able to deliver with a service ace to give the Tigers the opening set by a 35-33 final.
Set 2 was also tight through its entirety. With the set tied at 7, the Tigers got 2 kills from Miguel Vega and one from Dobrowolski to take a 10-7 lead and force a SXU timeout. The move paid off as the Cougars scored 3 straight to level the score at 10. The Tigers would slowly nudge ahead, and with an 18-16 lead, GC got consecutive kills from Ryan Gunn and Krzysztof Kowalski to push the lead to 4 and force the last SXU timeout of the set. The Cougars would get no closer than 3 the rest of the way as Gunn put the final touches on a 25-21 win, putting GC up 2-0 in the match.
Set 3 saw the teams split the 1st 12 points. The Cougars then took advantage of Tiger attack errors to go on a 6-1 run and take a 12-7 lead. Georgetown would counter. After a Liam Morrissey kill, the Tigers would score 5 in a row with Gunn on serve to surge into the lead at 13-12 and force a Cougars timeout. With a lead of 15-13, Georgetown looked for the knockout blow, but Saint Xavier brought desperation into its game and fought back. The Cougars would score 7 of the next 8 points to take control with a 20-16 lead. They would close out the set, 25-23, to stay in the match.
The back-and-forth would continue in the fourth set. Georgetown sprinted out to a 5-2 early lead, followed by a 4-0 run from SXU to put the Cougars on top. Georgetown would slowly work its way ahead and match its biggest lead of 3 at 14-11. SXU again scored 4 straight, 3 thanks to Tiger attack errors. With the Tigers leading 20-19, SXU scored via a kill, an ace and a GC error to move ahead, 22-20, forcing Georgetown to call for time. The momentum stayed with the Cougars out of the timeout as they closed out the 4th, 25-21, to push the match the distance.
Set 5 was all Cougars. Georgetown scored the first point, but the Cougars countered with 5 in a row. The Tigers never got back within 4 the rest of the way as Saint Xavier won the 5th, 15-9, to pull off the stunning comeback.
The match took 2 hours, 25 minutes to play and saw a number of players put up stellar numbers. CJ Bride broke a NAIA Tournament record with 21 digs in the match. Krzysztof Kowalski led the Tigers offense with 17 kills. Liam Morrissey finished with 16, while Ryan Gunn added 11. In total, each squad finished with 58 kills. Kacper Dobrowolski turned another strong performance with 50 assists, his 3rd time reaching that number this season.
The Tigers now turn their attention to top-ranked Benedictine-Mesa on Thursday. The Tigers must win in order to avoid elimination.