Georgetown University’s volleyball team clinched a share of the D.C. Challenge Title following a Saturday split to wrap up competition in the nation’s capital. The Hoyas dropped a close 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 20-25, 25-7, 15-12) decision to Santa Clara in the first match before clinching a 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13) win against American in the finale. Georgetown and Santa Clara each went 2-1 for a share of the D.C. Challenge title.
“It was an exciting opening weekend for the Hoyas,” Head Coach Arlisa Williams said. “The team has worked extremely hard over the course of preseason and the overall competitiveness in the gym is the highest it has been in my time on the Hilltop. That hard work really paid off as we took on three strong opponents and came out plus one.
“I’m extremely proud of the growth of the players this weekend. The commitment they showed to the process, the grit with which they have played and the unity they demonstrated made this a winning opening weekend.”
Georgetown improves to 2-1 on the young season. The Broncos of Santa Clara share the 2-1 record while the Howard University Bison and American University Eagles both own a 1-2 record following the D.C. Challenge.
Match 1: Santa Clara 3, Georgetown 2
Junior Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) tallied an impressive 25 kills against Santa Clara while hitting at a .595 clip for the five-set affair. Graduate student Aima Eichie (Castle Rock, Colo./Rock Canyon) managed nine kills while tallying a pair of solo blocks. Freshman Riley Wertzberger (Dallas, Texas/Richardson) recorded six kills, 10 digs and four assists. Junior Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) led the team with 37 assists and chipped in three kills and 10 digs. Junior Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) led the squad with 12 digs as the third Hoya to reach double-digit digs.
The Blue & Gray hit .299 as a team led by Speech’s .595 hitting percentage. Eichie and McKnight each hit .462 and .429, respectively, to round out the top three.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair, but the Hoyas would pull ahead 11-7 early before the Broncos clawed their way back into the frame and knot the game at 21 apiece. Santa Clara would win the next three points to take a 24-21 advantage and needed all three set point opportunities to clinch the stanza, 25-23.
Behind the serves of Speech and McKnight, Georgetown used a series of runs and took advantage of sloppy Santa Clara play to pull out to an early 14-7 lead. The Hoyas would continue to extend the lead and closed the set, 25-15, on a pair of kills, one apiece from Speech and McKnight.
With the score knotted at 10 in the third frame, the Hoyas gained momentum with a 7-0 run, a lead they would not relinquish. Junior Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) contributed a kill while Speech tallied a pair and McKnight delivered the set-winning kill to close out the stanza, 25-20.
The fourth set would see the Hoyas run out of steam as the Broncos quickly evened the match score at two sets apiece following a 25-7 fourth set. The deciding set looked like more of the same as Santa Clara took the 4-0 lead to open the set but the Hoyas rebounded and pulled within two (6-4) and continued to trade points through the remainder of the set. The Hoyas could not get any closer than two (13-11) as the Broncos clinched the match on a 15-12 fifth-set decision.
Santa Clara hit .274 as a team for the match led by Hailey Lindberg’s .450.
Match 2: Georgetown 3, American 2
GU’s second match of the day saw a more balanced attack as Speech led the way with 22 kills while chipping in two assists, three digs and four blocks. Sinnette managed 16 kills, two assists and five digs while junior Olivia King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) managed 11 kills and four digs. McKnight recorded her second double-double of the season as she led the team with 53 assists and managed 17 digs to go along with six kills and a pair of blocks. Higareda’s 25 digs was a match best and she and McKnight were the only two in double figures.
Georgetown hit .292 for the match as Speech and McKnight each hit .500.
The opening frame saw the Hoyas take a 15-9 lead after a 9-0 run featuring a pair of aces and five GU kills. Georgetown closed the set on a Speech kill on a McKnight assist, 25-19.
A 4-0 run that gave the Hoyas 13-11 edge forced an AU timeout in the second frame. Following the break, the Eagles would even the score and even took a one-point advantage (17-16), but GU clinched six of the next seven points to force another American timeout. The second would not have the same effect as the first as Georgetown closed the set on a pair of Speech kills and errant play from the Eagles, 25-20.
With the commanding two-set lead for the Hoyas, AU staged a comeback over the next two sets despite GU’s best efforts. Efficient AU play gave American the third and fourth sets with matching 25-21 scores to even the match at two sets apiece.
Facing the second fifth set of the day, the Hoyas fell behind early, trailing 9-5. However, an AU attack error sandwiched between an Eichie kill and a pair of kills from sophomore Madison Smith (Elk Grove, Calif./Elk Grove) evened the score at nine apiece. Both teams would trade points through an 11-11 tie. As the Hoyas took a 12-11 advantage, American called a timeout, but it would not be enough as the Hoyas came out of the break and closed the match on a pair of kills, one each from Sinnette and sophomore Charlotte Kelly (New York, N.Y./Chapin School) for the 15-13 win.
American University hit .288 as a team and Vela McBride led the team with 25 kills.
Georgetown returns to action next weekend as it takes part in the Service Academy Challenge. The Hoyas will face The Citadel in Friday’s lone match at The Pentagon before going head-to-head with Columbia and Army West Point at Fort Myer on Saturday.
Press Release courtesy of Georgetown Athletics.
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