Kowalski does it all in 4-set win over Grand View

After a close but tough loss on Friday night against 5th-ranked Grand View, Georgetown needed a spark going into Saturday's rematch. Enter Krzysztof Kowalski. The Senior turned in one of the best all-around performances of his Georgetown career in a 4-set win. Kowalski finished the day with 11 kills, 16 digs, 6 combined blocks and 2 aces.

The first set saw each team have a lead in the early going until the set was tied at 13. Grand View then scored 2 straight and put Georgetown on edge. The Tigers responded, starting with a tandem block by Michal Bak and Adam Szewinski. That put Kowalski on serve and started a run of 4 straight points to send Georgetown surging ahead, 18-15. Grand View countered with 3 straight to tie the match and force Georgetown into a timeout. With the set tied at 19, Ryan Gunn tallied one of his 17 kills on the day and put LC Newton in to serve. Newton's strong serving led to 3 more for Georgetown and a 23-19 lead. Grand View got one back but the Tigers countered with a kill from Tyree Wesley and an ace from Finn Heinemann to close out the set, 25-20.

Grand View upped its game in a major way in the 2nd set. The Vikings hit a staggering .400 over the set. Georgetown hung in with a respectable .263, but the Vikings just kept charging. With the set tied at 16, Grand View scored 3 straight. Georgetown answered with kills from Tyree Wesley and Ryan Gunn to get back within 1. Grand View swung back and scored the last 6 points of the set for a 25-18 win to level the match at a set apiece.

Georgetown saw Grand View hit .400 in the 2nd set and decided to raise the Vikings in the 3rd. The Tigers swung at a .423 clip while holding Grand View to just .143. Georgetown raced out to a 5-1 lead thanks to strong serve from Heinemann and Gunn. Grand View fought back to within 7-5. The Tigers then had transfer, Michal Bak, on serve, who set up 4 in a row to give GC a 12-5 thanks to a strong mix of attacking and defending as the Vikings tried to stay away from Kowalski at the net. Kowalski made his presence felt with multiple kills during a 6-0 run later in the set that vaulted GC to a 20-9 lead. He added an ace later in the set as Georgetown rolled to a 25-14 win in the 3rd.

The 4th set was tight early on with Grand View mostly holding the edge. The Vikings took an 11-10 lead, but a serve error tied the match and put Georgetown back on serve. With CJ Bride dealing from the back, Kowalski denied a Viking attempt at the net to put Georgetown ahead, 12-11. He added a kill moments later to cap a 5-0 run and give the Tigers a 15-11 lead. Grand View chipped away to a 16-14 deficit, but Ryan Gunn got the serve back to the Tigers and set off a run of 6 straight points for a 22-14 lead that the Vikings could not overcome as Georgetown closed out the 4th, 25-17.

After the 2nd set in which Grand View hit .400, Krzysztof Kowalski led a defense that held the Vikings below .155 over the final 2 sets. Ryan Gunn was stellar on offense with 17 kills and a hitting percentage of .382. Finn Heinemann dished out 41 assists, while also having 6 digs and 2 aces. Michal Bak and Tyree Wesley each finished with 6 kills, as did Adam Szewinski. CJ Bride paced the back line with 13 digs.

The Tigers next return home to begin Mid-South Conference play against Cumberland on Tuesday night. First serve is set for 7:00pm at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.