The Lady Hoyas (5-10) could not hold on to a dominating 2-0 lead against their rival Syracuse (4-15) at home on Sunday. The ladies endured a crushing 3-2 defeat as they ceded the last three games to Syracuse to fall to 0-3 in the Big East play while Syracuse improved to a 1-3 record.
The Hoyas opened the first game with strong serving from freshman right side and outside hitter Dana Dumas, pulling away for a lead 17-12. The girls dominated the rest of the game to eventually win 30-22. The Hoyas’ carried their momentum into the second game with a 30-25 win. The Hoyas were too fired up to let the game slip away in the face of Syracuse’s tenacity.
“The game started off so well against Syracuse, and we did some things very well in the beginning of the match,” Head Coach Arlisa Hagan said.
In the second half, Syracuse made some adjustments that proved they were not willing to give in, as they captured the third game 30-24. The Hoyas attempted to rally back, but small errors and poor passing on the Hoyas’ part gave way to a 30-28 loss in the fourth match. Georgetown could not get its winning ways back as they lost 15-13 in the final game.
“This happens a lot where the momentum just turns, and you go into the halftime after that second game, and it’s really anyone’s game when you come back,” senior outside hitter Annie Connor commented on the shift in the match.
Although the defeat was rough, the lady Hoyas did put up a fight and displayed some great play. Hagan handed Syracuse a twist by having freshman outside hitter Jessica Hardy roam the back row at the libero position and showing off freshman middle back Kiersten McKoy’s serve.
“We made significant changes from what we were on Friday night to where we were today with only an hour and a half worth of practice,” Hagan said of her changes.
Connor led the team with 25 kills, a career high, and sophomore outside hitter Jessica Buffum followed with 16 kills. McKoy also had an outstanding game with 14 kills and a .481 hitting percentage.
“I was able to get up a lot easier because the rest of my hitters were taking the blocks for me,” Connor said.
“There’re some good things in this awful, awful feeling loss,” Hagan praised her team’s efforts.
This Saturday the Lady Hoyas will travel to Pittsburg (13-6, 2-2 BE) in hopes of breaking their six match losing streak to come home with a Big East Conference win.
