Tigers roll by IU East in sweep

Georgetown took on IU East on Friday night looking for its 3rd straight win in the River States Conference. The Tigers started strong against the 1st year program and never relented in a 3-0 sweep, the 3rd straight sweep to start RSC play.

Georgetown raced out to a quick 10-4 lead in the first after a dominating start on both sides of the ball and never looked back. The Tigers led by as many as 8 on three different occasions, including at the end as a kill from Adam Szewinski and service ace from Ben Meyers capped a 25-17 opening win, in which the Red Wolves hit just .083, compared to .550 for Georgetown.

IU East scored 2 of 3 to start the 2nd set. Georgetown quickly took the edge back thanks to a IUE serve error and a Kristjan Unt kill. Adam Szewinski then flexed his muscle up front with consecutive blocks to give GC a 6-3 lead. The Red Wolves scored the next 2, but Georgetown then rolled off 6 of the next 8 to take control at 12-7 and force IU East to a timeout. Georgetown continued to slowly pull away as the set went on. Leading 21-14, Kristjan Unt put 2 more away as part of a 3-0 run to give Georgetown a 24-14 lead and 10 set points. The third proved the charm as an attack error gave the Tigers a 25-16 win.

The third set was the tightest of the day as the teams split the first 22 points. With the set tied at 11, Adam Szewinski blocked another ball and was followed by a Santino Zucchiati kill to give Georgetown minor breathing room at 13-11. IU East came back within 1 at 15-14, but Georgetown fired back with 5 straight. The Colombian duo of Miguel Ariza Vega and Jose Acuna Yepes started the rally. Zucchiati delivered another kill before a 2nd ace from Yepes punctuated the run and gave Georgetown a 20-14 lead. IU East refused to lay down as the Red Wolves pulled out a stunning run of 6 straight to tie the set at 20, causing Georgetown to take a rare home timeout. An exchange of points kept the set tied at 21. Georgetown took the lead for good on another block from Szewinski, followed by a Kristjan Unt kill, and a tandem block between the 2 for a 24-21 lead. 2 points later, Unt punctuated a stellar night with his 14th and final kill to close it out, 25-22.

Kristjan Unt was dominant on the outside, hitting .524 with the 14 kills. He also added 6 digs and a block assist. Santino Zucchiati made the most of his chances as he hit .600 on 7 kills. Finn Hienemann and Andrew Mayhew split setting duties and combined for 30 assists. Georgetown's offense hit .470 on the night while holding the Red Wolves to .087.