No. 3 Mighty Oaks Finish Off No. 2 Tigers in Five Sets

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The No. 2-seeded Georgetown College men's volleyball team (18-9, 13-3 RSC) lost in the semifinals of the River States Conference tournament to No. 3-seeded Oakland City University (21-9, 10-6 RSC) on Friday night in Gosser Gymnasium.

Oakland City defeated Georgetown in five sets: 19-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-13.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Georgetown led from the first serve, securing the match's opening point off an Adam Szewinski kill. The Tigers commanded a 3-1 lead before a 3-1 run by the Mighty Oaks tied things at 4-4. The opener was tied on three more occasions before a 5-1 run by the Tigers separated the No. 2 seed for good. Three kills and an ace fueled a mini run and helped Georgetown secure the first set, 25-19.

The second set was all Georgetown. After taking the opening point off an attack error, the Tigers raced out to a 6-3 advantage. From there, Oakland City made it a two-point game at 8-6, but the Tigers rallied once again to secure the set behind a crucial run. This time, an extended 10-1 spurt put things out of reach for OCU as Georgetown led 20-8. The Tigers claimed the second, 25-14.

Despite once again claiming the opening point, the Tigers fell behind in the third. With the set tied at 6-6, the Mighty Oaks found their rhythm behind a 10-3 run to lead 16-9. Georgetown then rattled off six of the next seven points to make it a 17-15 game, but could not quite close the gap fully. The Tigers fended off two set points but fell 25-22.

The fourth set stayed competitive most of the way as the Tigers dipped into an 11-7 deficit early but climbed out of it behind some costly Mighty Oaks errors. A service error yielded Georgetown a 16-15 advantage, and another attack made it 19-18 in favor of the No. 2 seed before Oakland City closed out the set, 25-21.

The first two points of the fifth belonged to Georgetown, who appeared to have settled in. Oakland City continued making errors, which allowed the Tigers as much as a three-point lead at 6-3. Georgetown held onto the lead until a 6-1 swing by the Mighty Oaks made it an 11-8 game. The Tigers fended off one match point but fell in the end, 15-13.

THE TEAM
Georgetown hit .272 as a squad, with OCU earning a .252 mark. The Tigers had 55 kills and 54 assists. Georgetown collected five service aces and 35 digs.  

THE PLAYERS
* Michal Bak collected a team-high 19 kills with seven digs and three block assists.
* Adam Szewinski had 12 kills and finished with three block solos and five block assists.
* Kristjan Unt added nine kills to go with four digs and three service aces.

UP NEXT
Georgetown awaits an at-large bid to the NAIA National tournament, with the selection show to be announced on Tuesday, April 21, at 10:00 a.m.