Press Release courtesy of Georgetown Athletics.
Georgetown University’s volleyball team heads to the Lone Star State as it closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule with a trio of matches at the Rice adidas Invitational II this weekend. The Hoyas take on Arkansas State and Stephen F. Austin on Friday before wrapping up the trip against the host Owls on Saturday.
Live stats for all three matches can be found online at www.GUhoyas.com. A live stream for the Rice match will also be available.
The Blue & Gray (6-3) is coming off a tough 1-2 weekend at the Georgetown Classic, sweeping Coppin State 3-0 but dropping a pair of 3-2 decisions to James Madison and Buffalo. Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts as she averaged 3.23 kills and 1.00 blocks per set while hitting at a solid .393 clip in the three matches.
Speech leads the Hoyas with 3.67 kills per set while hitting .475 on the season. She leads the BIG EAST in hitting and is ranked 10th overall in the nation. Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) and Olivia King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) both add over two kills a frame with 2.45 and 2.13, respectively, while Aimia Eichie (Castle Rock, Colo./Rock Canyon/UC Davis) and Riley Wertzberger (Dallas, Texas/Richardson) chip in 1.67 and 1.63 kills per set, respectively, as well. Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) paces the offense with 9.09 assists per set.
Defensively, Speech averages a block a stanza at the net while Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) anchors the back row with 4.33 digs per set. Higareda ranks second in the BIG EAST in digs and is 90th in the nation. McKnight follows with 2.56 dps and Wertzberger, Sinnette, King and Margo Pivonka (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) all average at least one dig a set.
Georgetown opens the tournament on Friday against Arkansas State at 11 a.m., before taking on Stephen F. Austin at 4:30 p.m. The Hoyas have never faced either the Red Wolves or the Ladyjacks in program history.
Arkansas State (5-5) has won three of its last four matches following a 2-4 start to the season. Three Red Wolves are led by Carlisa May with 4.21 kills a frame while Drew Jones adds 3.53 kps. Four A-State players average more than a pair of digs per set, led by Tatum Ticknor with 5.43 dps.
Stephen F. Austin (11-2) recently had an 11-match winning streak snapped by Texas State on Tuesday. Three Ladyjacks averaged more than two kills per set, with Corin Evans, Haley Coleman and Danae Daron contributing 2.93, 2.83 and 2.30 kps, respectively. Running a 6-2 offense, Ann Hollas averages 6.09 assists per set with McKenzie Brewer chipping in 4.02 a frame. Defensively, Coleman collects 3.07 digs per set and Shayle Eagleton contributes 1.02 blocks a frame at the net.
Saturday’s lone match features the Hoyas taking on the host Owls at 11 a.m.Georgetown and Rice have only faced each other once before on the court with the Owls claiming a 3-0 victory over the Blue & Gray in 1988.
The Owls (7-4) recently hosted the first iteration of the Rice adidas Invitational last weekend, going 2-1 in the event with wins over Louisiana-Lafayette and Incarnate Word. Rice has four players averaging at least two kills per set with Nicole Lennon leading the way with 3.66 kps. Madison McDaniel paces the offense with 11.24 assists per set and Lee Ann Cunningham posts 5.07 digs per set.
Following the Rice adidas Invitation II, Georgetown returns to action next weekend as it opens BIG EAST play against eighth-ranked Creighton and Providence. The Hoyas travel to face the defending league champion Bluejays on Friday in Omaha, Neb., before returning to the East Coast to take on Providence on Sunday.
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