Sports

Volleyball falls short against James Madison

September 9, 2017


Volleyball vs Providence

The Georgetown volleyball team (5-2, Big East) fell to James Madison (7-0, CAA) in five sets (25-20, 20-25, 25-11, 22-25, 15-6) on the first night of the Georgetown Classic in McDonough Arena on Friday. The match also marked the Hoyas’ season home opener.

Junior outside hitter Olivia King led the Hoyas with 12 kills, while junior middle blocker Symone Speech added 11 kills for the Hoyas, who fought back repeatedly in a match that featured numerous spurts by each side. Junior libero Kenzie Higareda controlled the defensive effort with 18 digs, while both Speech and junior outside hitter Alyssa Sinnette added four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Madison Smith contributed a career-high 10 kills to round out a balanced attack.

The Hoyas came out sloppy in the first set, allowing the Dukes to jump out to an early 17-7 advantage. For the set, the Hoyas recorded more kills than the Dukes (11 to 8), but were hurt by errors, committing 10 to the Dukes’ three, resulting in a hitting percentage of 0.026. The Blue and Gray recovered from the early hole, clawing to within three points at 21-18, but James Madison finished out the set with a 4-2 run.

In the second set, the Hoyas turned the tables, jumping out to a 10-2 early advantage, resulting in multiple Dukes timeouts. The Hoyas erased the earlier sloppiness and managed an impressive team hitting rate of 0.286, featuring Smith and King combining for 10 kills. The Dukes never threatened in the second set, coming no closer than a margin of four.

The third set reflected the same issues that plagued the Hoyas in the first, as repeated early errors hurt any chances of a Georgetown run. Showing some early-season inconsistency, the Hoyas bounced back once more to take the fourth set 25-22, before ceding an early lead to the Dukes in the fifth set, falling 15-6.

The Hoyas return to action on the second day of the Georgetown Classic 11:00 am on Saturday versus Coppin State (0-7, MEAC), before concluding the event with a 7:00 pm match against Buffalo (4-2, MAC).


Santul Nerkar
Santul is the Voice's former executive culture editor and Halftime Sports editor. Follow him on Twitter @SantulN to become one of his rare few followers.


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