Tigers advance to Semifinals for 1st time after instant classic

In a match that had everything and took 2 hours, 19 minutes, the Georgetown Tigers made history in advancing to the NAIA Semifinals for the first time ever by knocking off the defending national champion, Vanguard, in a 5-set classic.

The two powerhouses traded points back-and-forth early in the 1st set. With Vanguard leading 9-7, Adam Szewinski buried a pass from Finn Heinemann to get the Tigers back on serve. With Michal Bak serving, Georgetown scored 4 straight, thanks in part to blocks from Szewinski and Ryan Gunn. With the Tiger lead at 12-9, Vanguard spent its first timeout to regroup. Vanguard had an answer moments later with a 3-0 run to move ahead of Georgetown, 16-15, and force the Tigers to use a timeout. The early mini-runs from each would prove to be a theme throughout this classic. Ryan Gunn picked up a kill out of the timeout to tie the set at 16, but the Lions countered with 2 straight to stay ahead. With Georgetown trailing 20-18, Gunn came up clutch once more to get the serve back. LC Newton delivered a perfect ace on serve to tie the set again. After a Vanguard point, the Lions committed 2 straight errors and when Ryan Gunn put another Finn Heinemann pass away, Georgetown had suddenly surged ahead, 23-21 and sent Vanguard into its final timeout of the set. The Lions answered with 2 straight to tie the set again, and Georgetown used its 2nd and final timeout. The Tigers had 2 set point chances but could not convert at 24-23 or 25-24. Michal Bak staved off a Vanguard set point with a kill to tie the set at 26 and again at 27. A Lion attack error gave GC another set point at 28-27 and this time the Tigers sealed the deal as Ryan Gunn buried his 6th kill of the set to give GC the 29-27 opening win.

The Tigers took the momentum into the 2nd set and led for much of the early going. With the lead at 10-7, Vanguard again strung 3 straight together to tie the match. Georgetown answered with 3 straight of its own with the set tied at 12 to move ahead, 15-12, forcing a timeout from the Lions. The lead continued to grow for the Tigers, ultimately reaching 5 at 20-15. That's when the Lions made their move. A stunning run of 6 straight points vaulted the Lions back into the lead at 21-20. Krzysztof Kowalski finally stopped the momentum with kills to tie the set at 21 and 22. The Lions just kept coming and with the set tied at 23, they were able to find space twice in a row for a 25-23 win to level the match at a set each.

Vanguard took the momentum of set 2 right into set 3 and turned in its best set performance of the match. With the score tied at 4, the Lions tallied 4 in a row to force Georgetown into a timeout. It proved to be the difference as the Lions never trailed again. Georgetown fought hard but never got closer than 2 points for the rest of the set. The Lions hit nearly .400 en route to a 25-19 win to push Georgetown to the brink of elimination.

The Tigers would not relent on this day. Miguel Ariza Vega came off the bench late in the 3rd for his first action and made his impact felt with a kill on the first point of the 4th. The pass came from Kacper Dobrowolski, who also subbed in late in the 3rd set as the Tigers' setter. Michal Bak followed suit with a kill from Dobrowolski on the next point and after a bad set from Vanguard, the Tigers had an early 3-0 lead. With all the runs so far in the match, the Tigers knew they could not let up. They didn't. A splendid mix of aggressive offense and solid defense pushed the lead out to 9-3. Vanguard settled things with 2 in a row, but Tyree Wesley found space to get one back and keep the momentum. Vega's next kill gave the Tigers a 13-7 lead and following an ace from Bak moments later, the lead swelled to 15-8 and Vanguard finally used a timeout. As was the case to this point, the Lions countered. A kill and 2 Tiger errors had suddenly cut the lead to 4. Georgetown wisely used a timeout before a big run could get going. The move paid off as Krzysztof Kowalski and Tyree Wesley led Georgetown on a 5-2 run to push the lead to 20-13 and another Vanguard timeout. A Lion error after gave the Tigers an 8-point lead. While Vanguard scored 3 straight, Kowalski continued to flex his dominance on the right side as put 2 balls away late in the set as the Tigers stayed alive with a 25-19 win to send the match to the 5th.

Michal Bak set an immediate message across the net that the Tigers were not to be denied on this day with a massive block to start the 5th. It threw Vanguard for a loop as the Lions followed it with 2 bad misses. The Lions took a timeout trailing, 3-0. They bounced back with 2 straight but couldn't make it 3 as Miguel Ariza Vega again made his presence felt with a smash up the middle from Kacper Dobrowolski. 2 Lion errors and a kill from Krzysztof Kowalski pushed Georgetown's lead out to 7-2. Moments later, Ryan Gunn sent a reminder of who he was across the way with a kill to give the Tigers an 8-3 lead. On most nights, a 5-point lead in the 5th has the leading side beaming with confidence and a feeling of impending victory. This was not the case on this day. Vanguard wasn't the defending national champions for nothing, and the Lions responded in stunning fashion. A kill from the Lions' Mr. Everything, Will Anderson, ignited a shocking 6-0 run, in which Anderson tallied 3 kills. Georgetown had gone from leading 8-3 to trailing 9-8.

Tigers' Head Coach, Jim Dwyer, called on his seniors for the answer. Ryan Gunn and Krzysztof Kowalski picked up the phone. Consecutive kills from the duo gave Georgetown the lead back at 10-9. After a Vanguard point, Gunn answered once more off a feed from Kacper Dobrowolski. After a Michal Bak kill to tie the set at 12, Vanguard's defense stepped up with a critical block that gave the Lions match point at 14-12. With the season on the line, Miguel Ariza Vega came up huge with another kill up the middle to put Georgetown on serve but still facing match point at 14-13. Vanguard used a timeout to try and ice the server, Krzysztof Kowalski. No such luck. After a terrific sequence back-and-forth, Michal Bak's latest kill saved the match and tied the set at 14. An error from Will Anderson followed, giving Georgetown its first chance at match point. Kowalski's serve was unplayable though and tied the set at 15. Vanguard took the lead at 16-15, but Kowalski responded with his 24th kill to tie the set at 16. On the next point, Miguel Ariza Vega came up with the biggest defensive play of his career with a massive solo block to put the Tigers up, 17-16. On match point, after an exchange of attacks, Vanguard's Will Anderson went up on the right side and tried a cut shot across court. The swing had too much on it as it sailed out for his 15th and final attack error of the match. The Georgetown bench stormed the floor as the Tigers had pulled out a stunning 18-16 win, in a match that will live in NAIA lore for many years to come.

Vanguard entered the match focused on taking Ryan Gunn out of it and forcing the rest of the Tigers to step up. Krzysztof Kowalski did just that with a herculean effort: 24 kills, a hitting percentage of .386, 5 digs and 2 block assists. Gunn still showed up when his team needed it. He finished with 12 kills, 9 digs and 6 block assists. Kacper Dobrowolski came on late in the 3rd as ended the day with 18 assists. Finn Heinemann started the day at setter and finished with 35 assists. Michal Bak came up with timely plays on both sides as he finished with 8 kills, 9 digs and 3 total blocks. Miguel Ariza Vega was huge during his time on the floor as he tallied 4 kills, hit .800 with 2 blocks.

As a team, the Tigers finished with 59 assists on 59 kills. Defense was also massive as Georgetown had 5 solo blocks and a staggering 21 block assists.

Georgetown now moves on to the semifinals to face a familar foe, Saint Xavier. The teams have already met twice this season with each team winning, 3-1, on home turf. The rubber match starts at 5:00pm ET on Friday and will be carried live via ESPN3.