Volleyball falls in tough 5-setter

After spending the first 15 days of the season on the road, Women's Volleyball finally had its turn to play in front of a home crowd on Saturday afternoon. Taking on Rio Grande for the 2nd time in 14 days, Georgetown put up a terrific fight in a match that went over 2 hours in length, but ultimately, Rio Grande snuck out of Davis-Reid Alumni Gym with a 5-set win.

Georgetown fed off the home crowd in the opening set, turning in one of its best in-set performances of the early season. The Tigers hit a staggering .407 with 14 kills and just 3 attack errors. They also limited Rio's offense to a hitting percentage of just .192, leading to a comfortable 25-18 win for GC.

Errors would hurt the Tigers in the 2nd set as 8 on attacks gave Rio the chance to get itself turned around. The Tigers stayed competitive throughout the set, but the Red Storm made just enough plays to eek out a 25-22 win to level the match at 1 set each.

Set 3 proved to be the best set of the afternoon. Both teams found their respective offensive rhythms. Rio amassed 12 kills and hit .300, but couldn't stay with the Tigers' scorching attack. Georgetown turned in an incredible 19 kills and hit .405. While the Red Storm did not lay down quietly, the Tigers got 2 kills each from Constanca Rosas and Gareth Bruce to finish the set 25-23, in favor of Georgetown, thus giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead overall.

The 4th set saw each time take turns with mini-runs and the lead as Rio fought to stay alive and Georgetown looked to finish it out. Rio built a 16-13 lead, but Georgetown tied the match at 17, thanks to 3 straight attack errors by the Red Storm. The run forced Rio to take a timeout and regather itself. Each team again had small runs out of the timeout. Georgetown eventually grabbed a 23-21 lead, moving just 2 points away from the match win. Rio used its 2nd and final timeout of the set to stop the Tigers momentum. The tactic worked as Rio rallied for 3 straight points to take the set and push the match the full distance.

The rally proved to be a deflating blow for Georgetown as Rio took immediate control in the 5th set. Georgetown was only able to muster a 2-2 tie in the 5th. Rio went on a 6-1 run from there to take command, ultimately closing out Georgetown, 15-9, in the 5th to take the match.

Gareth Bruce led Georgetown with 17 kills and 17 digs. Giara Ferrari and Constanca Rosas ended with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Ines Marques paced the offense with 37 assists.

The Tigers stay home on Tuesday to take on Cumberlands in the opener of Mid-South Conference play. Opening serve is set for 6:00pm.