Seniors close out home slate with win over Asbury

Kate Ruggles, Ivona Zarin, Olivia Recktenwald, Viannie Kazan, and Olivia Mitchell all took the floor at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym for the final time on Monday night. After pregame ceremonies to honor the quintet for all they've given to the volleyball program, they and the rest of the Tigers turned their focus and took care of business. Georgetown defeated Asbury, 3-1 on Senior Night.

Asbury had ideas of playing spoiler from the get go, taking an early 4-1 lead. The Asbury lead would reach 4 at 16-12 before Georgetown turned it around. A kill from Makena Walker, Olivia Recktenwald, and 3 straight aces from Ivona Zarin rocketed GC to a 18-16 lead. Asbury got the next point back, but the momentum stayed with Georgetown. Kate Ruggles would ultimately close out the set for a 25-21 Georgetown win.

The Tigers roared out of the 2nd set gate with a 5-0 start. Asbury got as close as 1 at 13-12, but Georgetown countered with 4 straight to push its lead to 17-12. The Tigers were never threatened again and went up 2-0 after a 25-18 win in the 2nd.

Asbury came out in the 3rd on fire, scoring 11 of the 1st 15 points. Georgetown chipped away and got within 1 at 24-23. An Asbury attack error tied the set for the 1st time at 24. Georgetown tied the set again at 25, but a serve error, followed by an Asbury ace, closed out the set, 27-25, in favor of the Eagles, thus denying the seniors a sweep.

In the 4th, Georgetown again set the pace early by scoring the 1st 3 before Asbury got on the board. With the Tiger lead at 5-4, Georgetown went on a 6-0 run to go ahead by 7 and in the process, force Asbury to take a timeout. The Eagles called their 2nd timeout a few minutes later when consecutive errors gave Georgetown a lead of 16-6. With the margin at 17-7, Asbury made one final push, scoring 6 straight to get within 4 and force Georgetown into a timeout. Makena Walker ended the run with a kill, which also virtually ended Asbury's hopes for a rally. The Eagles never got closer the rest of the way as the Tigers closed out the 4th, 25-17.

On their night, Kate Ruggles finished with 3 kills, 1 assist, and 4 digs. Ivona Zarin moved the offense to the tune of 22 assists and 4 aces. Olivia Recktenwald finished with 7 kills, 10 digs, an ace and a solo block. Viannie Kazan tallied 20 assists and 13 digs, while Olivia Mitchell finished with 9 kills.

The Tigers head back on the road in the MSC to take on Cumberlands on Wednesday. First serve in Williamsburg, KY is set for 6:30pm.