Tigers fall in 5 sets on Senior Night

Men's Volleyball honored Finn Heinemann and Miguel Ariza Vega on Senior Night on Monday at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym against Campbellsville. The game was also the final at Davis-Reid before the renovation project begins. For all the memories the pair have given, they nearly delivered another as Georgetown almost pulled off a reverse sweep, but ultimately fell 15-9 in the deciding 5th set.

Campbellsville held a small lead early in the opening set as the teams traded quick serve points until CU took a 10-7 lead. Georgetown then made a move as Jose Acuna Yepes delivered 2 straight kills to cut the deficit to 1. The defense then followed as Robin Puss and Adam Szewinski combined for a block at the pin for the tie. A Campbellsville error followed to cap a 4-0 run for a 11-10 GC lead. A Robin Puss kill out of a CU timeout pushed the lead to 2. Campbellsville then countered with its own 5-0 run to take a 15-12 lead. Trailing 16-13, Georgetown got 2 back from Szewinski and Puss to get within 1. Campbellsville quickly snatched the momentum back with a 4-1 run to take a 20-16 lead. Georgetown never got closer than 2 again as Campbellsville took the opener, 25-22.

The teams split the 1st 12 points of the 2nd set as neither side scored on serve until CU did to take an 8-6 lead. The back-and-forth continued until CU took an 11-8 lead and Georgetown took a timeout. Leading 12-10, Campbellsville then exploded and ran away from Georgetown. CU went on a stunning 9-1 run to get out to a 21-11 lead. Georgetown countered with its own run of 6-1, but it was too late as Campbellsville won the set, 25-19, to put Georgetown on the brink.

The 3rd set was full of mini-runs on each side as Georgetown looked to stay alive, while Campbellsville yearned for the road sweep. With Georgetown leading 4-3, Campbellsville scored 3 straight to take the lead. GC turned to Jose Acuna Yepes, who delivered 3 kills as part of a 5-1 run to push Georgetown back in front, 9-7. Campbellsville refused to relent. They came right back with 4 in a row to take an 11-9 edge. Finn Heinemann delivered a missile ace moments later for a 13-12 Georgetown lead. Campbellsville put up another 3-0 run to put the pressure back on the home team. Georgetown used a timeout while down 18-15. Santino Zucchiati started a rally with a kill. A 4-1 run was punctuated by a block from Miguel Ariza Vega to tie the set again at 19. The teams traded points until CU had a 22-21 lead. Georgetown went to the outside for the answer and got kills from Michal Bak and Zucchiati to go up, 23-22. A kill from Adam Szewinski then put Georgetown on a set point. Campbellsville kept coming and scored the next 2 to tie the set at 24. Georgetown then showed its toughness as Bak again put Georgetown on the brink of a win. The defense then forced a CU error as Georgetown stayed alive, 26-24.

Georgetown used the momentum and got on a roll in the 4th set. The Tigers raced out to a 5-2 lead over Campbellsville. CU made it tight again with a run to cut the GC lead to 7-6. Michal Bak was determined not to let CU back in as he walloped 3 straight to ignite an 8-1 run. Out of nowhere, Georgetown had taken a 15-7 lead, with the final point coming from Bak. Campbellsville fired back with 4 straight to cut the lead in half and send Georgetown to a timeout. The Georgetown defense forced 2 straight errors out of the timeout to keep the momentum on the home team side. Georgetown kept going and closed out the set, 25-18, to send the night to a 5th set.

The 5th set played out similarly to the 3rd set with each team going on runs. Campbellsville roared out with 5 of the 1st 7. Georgetown turned to its dynamic Colombian duo of Jose Acuna Yepes and Miguel Ariza Vega for the answer. Yepes started with a kill. Vega then blocked one in the middle and killed the next ball. Ben Meyers then delivered an ace as Georgetown rallied for 4 straight to take a 6-5 lead. Campbellsville then took its turn and punched back with its own 4-0 run to retake the lead at 9-6. An exchange of points put the CU lead at 11-8. Michal Bak got one back for Georgetown, but Campbellsville stayed poised and put another 4-0 run on. This one closed out a 2-hour, 30-minute match for a 15-9 win in the 5th.

The offensive numbers are both sides were impressive. For Georgetown, 4 players finished with double-digit kills, led by Michal Bak's 18. Bak was also strong on the back line, finishing with 14 digs. Jose Acuna Yepes delivered 17 kills on the outside. Adam Szewinski had 10 kills in the middle.

On Senior Night, the Tiger duo did all they could for a win. Miguel Ariza Vega finished with 10 kills and 3 solo blocks. Finn Heinemann racked up the helpers to the tune of 58 assists. He also had 10 digs, 2 aces and a solo block.

Georgetown next steps out of the RSC on Thursday with a trip to Ohio to take on Mount Vernon Nazarene at 7:00pm.

Due to the renovation of Davis-Reid Alumni Gym, the Tigers' remaining 3 regular season home games in April will be played at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown.