Tigers drop MSC opener to Cumberlands

Coming off a tough 5-set loss to Rio Grande on Saturday, Georgetown looked towards the conference opener against Cumberlands as a way to build momentum for the rest of the season. While the Tigers went toe-to-toe with the Patriots for much of the night, Cumberlands ultimately prevailed 3 sets to 1.

Set 1 was action of the highest quality. Both teams had 13 or more kills while hitting over .300. The teams split the 1st 18 points and then Georgetown scored 7 of the next 10 to take a 16-12 lead, with the final point of the run coming from Maria Tarazona. With the Tiger lead at 18-15, Cumberlands fought back with 3 straight to tie the set. They would keep the momentum the rest of the way to scratch out a 25-22 opening win.

Georgetown defending was the story in the second set as Cumberlands could not find any offensive continuity. The Patriots tallied just 3 kills in the frame and hit below .000, while Georgetown kept swinging and attacking to the tune of 11 kills, en route to a comfortable 25-17 Tiger win to even the match at a set apiece.

The script was flipped in set 3 as Cumberlands used the set break to refocus its offensive game as they came roaring back with 13 kills and hit .229. Georgetown hurt its own chances by committing 10 attack errors in the set, thus allowing Cumberlands to retake control with a 25-19 win to go ahead 2-1 on the night.

The 4th set played out similarly to the first set. The teams split the first 16 points before Georgetown took a small lead at 14-12. Cumberlands responded with 3 straight to go ahead by 1. Georgetown punched back with a 5-0 run to go ahead, 19-15, giving the Tiger faithful the belief that this match was headed to a 5th set. With Georgetown in command at 21-18, Cumberlands mustered a final run that Georgetown could not withstand. The Patriots ended the match on a 7-0 run to take the set 25-21 and finish off the Tigers in 4.

Ines Marques turned in another impressive outing with 21 assists and 12 digs. Her setter counterpart, Viannie Kazan, added 19 helpers of her own. Olivia Recktenwald and Gareth Bruce led the Tiger attack with 11 kills each.

The team now heads to St. Louis, MO this weekend to play in the UHSP Eutectics Classic. The Tigers begin play on Friday with 2 matches. The first will be against Friends at 4:00pm ET, followed by a match with Cottey at 8:00pm ET.