Tigers Win Home Opener Over Brescia, Fall to SMWC

GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The (RV) Georgetown College men's volleyball team (4-6, 2-1 RSC) won its home opener over Brescia University (6-7, 1-2 RSC) on Friday and then fell to St. Mary of the Woods College (16-2, 2-1 RSC) on Saturday in Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.

The Tigers defeated the Bearcats in five sets, 25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 25-13, 15-13.

The Pomeroy's defeated the Tigers in five sets, 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 18-25, 15-8.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – BRESCIA
The Tigers relied on the heavy on their attack game in the early stages as Brescia was forced into a timeout at the 9-5 mark. After the Bearcats rallied their way back into things, 11-9, the Tigers went on a 4-1 run to push ahead 15-10. Late in the first, a 4-0 run by the Tigers all but sealed things, 22-15. A Santino Zucchiatti kill followed by an attack error finished things, 25-19 for Georgetown.

Brescia scored the opening three points of the second before the Tigers rattled off four straight points. A 6-0 stretch for Brescia gave the visitors the lead (11-5), which they would not relinquish the rest of the set. Georgetown got back within four at the 18-14 mark but ended falling, 25-20.

The third set was ultra-competitive as both sides traded the first 21 points. The Tigers opened up a lead behind a 5-1 run, which Brescia erased at the 17-17 mark. A pair of 3-0 runs late in the set closed things off as the Bearcats won set three 25-21. 

Despite earning the opening point of the fourth, the Bearcats controlled little else in the set. The difference came with a 7-0 run to push things to 17-8, a lead the Tigers did not surrender. A service error gave the Tigers the fourth, 25-13.

The Tigers rallied off three of the first four points in the fifth and briefly surrendered the lead at the 6-5 and 9-8 mark, recaptured the lead for good off an attack error. Consecutive Kristjan Unt kills ended things in the fifth as Georgetown won 15-13.

THE TEAM – BRESCIA
Georgetown hit .200 as a squad, with BU earning a .127 mark. The Tigers had 57 kills and 54 assists. Georgetown collected eight service aces and 44 digs.  

THE PLAYERS – BRESCIA
* Kristjan Unt produced a team-high 14 kills with seven digs and two service aces.
* Adam Szewinski had 12 kills with six block assists and two digs.
* Santino Zucchiatti added 10 kills to go with three digs and three block assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED – SMWC
Both sides traded the opening 10 points before the Pomeroy's captured a two-point lead at 10-8. Things were tied at 13-13 before a 3-0 Pomeroy's run stopped play with a GC timeout. The Tigers rallied to tie things up at 18-18. The lead continued to trade hands all the way to the 24-24 mark. The Tigers capitalized with consecutive kills from Kristjan Unt and Santino Zucchiatti for the 26-24 win in the opener.

Georgetown raced out to a 6-4 lead before things got knotted at 10-10. SMWC did its damage late in the set as Georgetown saw its 17-15 lead turn into a 3-0 run and a 18-17 Pomeroy's lead. Things did not get decided until late, as after a bad set tied things at 22-22, a kill and a bad set pushed things to set point. A Zucchiatti kill saved one point before SMWC closed off the set with a service error, 25-23.

The third set saw the Tigers jump out to a quick 5-2 lead before the Pomeroys fought back to tie things at 9-9. After Georgetown recaptured the lead at 16-13, things tilted toward SMWC with a 6-1 run. The Pomeroys relied on their attacking game to close out the set 25-20.

After splitting the first 16 points of the fourth, Georgetown did damage late in the set, rattling off four of five points to take a 19-14 lead. Some swift hitting from the middle blockers guided things to a fifth set as the Tigers took the fourth, 25-18.

The Pomeroys came out hot in the fifth, taking a quick 4-1 advantage. Georgetown could not recover, pulling within two, but falling 15-8.

THE TEAM – SMWC
Georgetown hit .248 as a squad, with SMWC earning a .264 mark. The Tigers had 58 kills and 55 assists. Georgetown collected three service aces and 39 digs.  

THE PLAYERS – SMWC
* Kristjan Unt produced a team-high 21 kills with six digs and a .515 attacking percentage.
* Adam Szewinski had 13 kills while adding four block assists and two block solos.
* Michal Bak also had 11 kills to go with seven digs.

UP NEXT
The Tigers finish up their three-game homestand when the University of Rio Grande (8-4, 1-2 RSC) visits on Tuesday, March 3.

First serve with the Red Storm is set for 7:00 p.m. in Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.