Tigers win thrilling home opener

After a 2-1 weekend in Chicago to start the 2025 season, Georgetown Men's Volleyball made its home debut on Tuesday against 12th-ranked Reinhardt. The crowd was treated to a tight match throughout as both teams brought a high level of play to the court. In the end, Georgetown made just enough plays to pull out a 4-set win and improve to 3-1 on the season.

Georgetown got off to a strong start on the home court. Led by 2 aces from Finn Heinemann to start the match, the Tigers built out a 9-4 lead. Reinhardt settled in with 4 straight to tighten the score and force Georgetown into a timeout to regroup. A tandem block from Heinemann and Miguel Ariza Vega denied Reinhardt the tie and got the Tigers back in control. Georgetown went on a run punctuated by Michal Bak to take a 17-11 lead. As was the theme throughout, Reinhardt made a charge back. The Eagles scored 8 of the next 11 to again get within 1 at 20-19. Finn Heinemann got 1 back with a kill. After a Reinhardt point, Georgetown got 3 straight from Bak, Robin Puss, and another ace from Heinemann for a 24-20 lead. 2 points later, Bak delivered the final blow off a feed from Brandon Gitschier for a 25-21 set 1 win.

Set 2 saw Reinhardt grab the early momentum and eventually take a 11-6 lead on Georgetown. The Tigers fought back with 2 blocks as part of a 4-0 run to get within 1, sending Reinhardt to a timeout. Reinhardt got 1 back for a 12-10 lead out of the timeout. Georgetown turned to Michal Bak again as he and Adam Szewinski ignited a 8-2 run to rocket the Tigers to an 18-14 lead. Once again, Reinhardt would not relent as the Eagles scored 6 of 7 to retake the lead at 20-19. 2 Eagle errors gave GC the lead again, but Reinhardt came back. The Eagles took a 23-22 lead, but Bak and Robin Puss took care of extended rallies to give Georgetown a set point at 24-23. Reinhardt held it off and ultimately was able to eek out a 27-25 win to level the match at a set each.

Georgetown rebounded in set 3 by scoring 6 of the first 8. Reinhardt fought back to tie the set at 9 each. The teams would follow by exchanging each of the next 16 points as the set went to a 17-all tie. Reinhardt finally broke the string with a 2nd straight point for the lead. Georgetown took a timeout, which paid off as a kill from Adam Szewinski and block from Robin Puss were part of a 3-0 run to send GC ahead, 20-18, and see Reinhardt call for time. The Eagles got one back out of the timeout, but Georgetown kept charging. 2 kills from Jose Acuna Yepes were part of a run of 4 straight to give the Tigers a 24-19 lead and 5 set points. To no surprise, Georgetown would need every one as Reinhardt scored 4 straight to cut the lead to 24-23. The Tigers had to call on Yepes again, who came through with the dagger to win the set, 25-23, and put Georgetown ahead in the match, 2 sets to 1.

The Tigers used the momentum in set 4 and exploded out of the gates. A combination of solid attacks and a strong blocking game saw the Tigers race out to an 11-3 lead with all eyes on the finish line. Reinhardt would have none of it as the Eagles forced Georgetown into mistakes as part of 5 unanswered to cut the Georgetown lead down to 3. The Tigers fought back with another kill from Yepes and solo block from Heinemann to stem the Eagle momentum. Later, a block from Miguel Ariza Vega gave Georgetown a 19-15 lead but it would not hold. Reinhardt charged right back and scored 5 straight to come all the way back from the 8-point deficit to take a 20-19 lead over the Tigers. Yepes and Vega would not be denied as they scored the next 2 for a Georgetown lead that would get to 22-20. Reinhardt again had the answer as the Eagles scored 3 straight to reassume the lead. Yepes came back with another kill to tie the set at 23. Miguel Ariza Vega then decided enough was enough as the senior came up with back-to-back solo blocks to close out the set, 25-23, and seal a hard-fought win for the Tigers.

In total, Vega finished with 6 solo blocks to lead a Tiger defense that finished with 12 total solo blocks and 8 tandem blocks. Offensively, the Tigers had 4 different players reach double-digit kills. Michal Bak, making his season-debut, finished with 12 to go with a team-high 13 digs. Jose Acuna Yepes and Adam Szewinski also finished with 12 kills. Robin Puss added 10 kills and 12 digs. Finn Heinemann facilitated the offense with 39 assists, 3 aces, and 9 digs.

The Tigers are back at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on Thursday night to take on Cornerstone (MI). First serve is set for 7:00pm.