Deaton's 1st start leads sweep of Warner

Brantley Deaton made his 1st career start in a Tiger uniform on Saturday, inspiring the Tigers to a quick 3-0 rout of (RV) Warner and a 5-1 start to the season.

Georgetown set out to make quick work of the Royals and did so with blocks from Will Connaughton, Tyree Wesley and Ryan Gunn to take a 3-0 lead in the 1st set. Deaton recorded the 1st of his 8 kills shortly after off a pass from Kacper Dobrowolski to give GC a 5-2 lead. With both teams struggling on serve, the lead for Georgetown stayed virtually the same for most of the set as the Tigers could not pull away and the Royals could not draw closer. The breaking point finally came late in the set. With Georgetown leading 21-17, Deaton stepped up with another kill to put Georgetown back on serve. The Tigers finished off the set with an ace from LC Newton and a kill from Miguel Ariza Vega to take the opener, 25-17.

After a 2-2 start to the 2nd set, Georgetown erupted with an 8-1 run to put Warner at distance. The Royals settled in and got back within 6 at 14-8 before another GC run sent the Tiger advantage to 19-9 on the strength of kills from Tyree Wesley and blocking from Santana Roybal-Benson. Sean Bohler ultimately closed out the 2nd set to give GC a 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead overall.

In the 3rd, Georgetown turned to its bench, looking to close out the night. Carlos Morales-Pagan saw his first action at libero, taking over for CJ Bride for the 3rd. He talled an ace and 4 digs in the set as the teams traded points in the tightest of all 3 sets. While Warner hung tough, it was ultimately Brantley Deaton who closed out the set with his 8th kill for a 25-23 win and sweep of the Royals.

The Tiger depth was on full display in the sweep. The setter combination of Kacper Dobrowolski and LC Newton combined for 34 assists and 3 aces. Tyree Wesley had 6 kills and hit .714. Deaton and Vega each had 8 kills, while Ryan Gunn joined Wesley with 6 kills in 2 sets of play. Eight Tigers recorded at least 2 digs in the match.

Georgetown next heads to Sylvania, OH for 2 matches, starting next Friday against #7 Menlo at 4:30pm. On Saturday, the Tigers will take on host, Lourdes, at 12:30pm.