No. 7 Blue Devils Finish off No. 4 Tigers in Four

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The No. 4 Georgetown College men's volleyball team (0-1) dropped its season opener to No. 7 Lawrence Tech (1-0) in Don Ridler Field House on Thursday night.

The Blue Devils defeated the Tigers in four sets, winning 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was all Tigers from the first serve in the opener. Georgetown jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead behind four straight attack errors committed by the Blue Devils. After the Blue Devils found their footing and tied the first set at 13-13, Georgetown used a 5-1 run to grab control of the set, 18-14. Georgetown rattled off five of the final six points in the set to take the opener, 25-18.

The second set started much friendlier for Lawrence Tech, who began with a 4-2 advantage. The Tigers took their first lead of the set at 6-5 behind a pair of Michal Bak kills, followed by a kill from both Adam Szewinski and Santino Zucchiatti. After both sides traded points and the lead, things shifted with the set tied at 16-16. Much like the opening set, a 5-1 run, this time by the Blue Devils, separated things out to 21-17. Although the Tigers cut it to a two-point game late, they ended up falling, 25-22.

Things leveled out in the third as the Tigers rallied to take an early 8-6 lead. Both teams had doubled their point totals, and it was Georgetown with the 16-12 lead. After LTU played to a 19-19 tie, the Tigers took their final lead of the set off a Zucchiatti kill. In total, the set was tied nine different times, with the Blue Devils taking the third, 25-23.

The Blue Devils gained early control of the fourth before Georgetown battled back to tie things at 7-7 off a service ace. Neither side built more than a two-point lead before things knotted up at 13-13. From there, a 9-2 run sank the Tigers into an insurmountable 22-15 hole. Georgetown ended up falling 25-18 in the fourth.

THE TEAM
Georgetown hit .223 as a squad, with LTU earning a .294 mark. The Tigers had 46 kills and 43 assists. Georgetown collected four service aces and 32 digs.  

THE PLAYERS
* Santino Zucchiatti produced a team-high 13 kills with three block assists and a dig.
* Kristjan Unt also had double-digit kills with 11 while adding six digs.
* Michal Bak had nine kills to go with eight digs and two service aces.

UP NEXT
The Tigers continue play on the road when they take on No. 12 Hope International (0-1) tomorrow night in a neutral-site match on the campus of Lourdes University.

First serve with the Royals is set for 3:00 p.m.