Ryan Gunn leads sweep of #14 Lourdes

After a tight but tough loss on Friday to Menlo, Georgetown showed strong resolve and determination in a sweep of 14th-ranked Lourdes, giving Georgetown its 6th win in 8 tries on the season.

The Tigers were out to make a point early and did so by scoring 6 of the first 8 points. After a Finn Heinemann ace, Georgetown later led 12-7 in the set before Lourdes began to fight back. Lourdes then scored 4 unanswered to get within 1 but could not draw level. Back-to-back kills from Krzysztof Kowalski and Jose Acuna Yepes sent the lead to 15-11 and Lourdes into a timeout. A kill from Miguel Ariza Vega later gave GC an 18-13 lead, before Lourdes scored 3 straight to get within 2. Kowalski and Vega answered with a kill and block respectively to follow. Georgetown led 20-16 and Lourdes used its last timeout of the set. A 4-1 run brought Lourdes within 22-21 before kills from Kowalski, Ryan Gunn and an attack error closed out the set for Georgetown, 25-21.

In the 2nd, Georgetown showed it could rally from an early deficit. The Gray Wolves took an early 3-1 lead before Georgetown countered with 4 straight to surge ahead. The teams continued to trade serves and the lead for much of the set. The difference came with the set tied at 17. After a ball handling error from Lourdes, Miguel Ariza Vega fired an ace, followed by a Ryan Gunn kill from Finn Heinemann. Lourdes called for time, trailing 20-17. Georgetown never looked back in the 2nd and won it, 25-19, to take a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers went for the kill early in the 3rd with a 4-0 run to start. Georgetown maintained a stable lead for much of the set and looked like it was heading for a comfortable sweep. With the Tigers leading 18-14, Lourdes put up a strong stand with 4 in a row to tie the set at 18. The Gray Wolves would eventually take a 21-20 lead, its first of the set. With the score tied at 22, Finn Heinemann delivered an ace and followed by a Lourdes error, the Tigers had match point. Lourdes, again, fought back with 2 straight to tie the set at 24. The trades continued until a 26-26 tie was broken by a kill from Vega, followed by one from Jose Acuna Yepes to close out the set, 28-26, and the sweep.

Ryan Gunn led the offense with 16 kills and also tallied 2 solo blocks. Finn Heinemann dished out 30 assists. Tiger defending was also strong with 3 solo blocks and 16 block assists.

Georgetown hits the road next weekend for 2 matches against Grand View.