After a disappointing end to last season, the Georgetown women’s volleyball team came to campus ready for a fresh start and a chance to improve. After going 4-10 in conference play down the stretch last season, the Hoyas are still trying to find their way this year, going 1-3 thus far.
Back-to-back losses to George Washington and George Mason were not the most ideal way to start the season. After the underwhelming start, the Hoyas beat a tough American University team, but followed by dropping a disappointing match to Towson on Tuesday after almost coming back from a deficit. The squad fought off four match points before finally falling in the fourth set.
For now, Georgetown can attribute the slow start to growing pains and shaky confidence, but they must fix their problems soon if they want to be relevant in the Big East. Their schedule might help them—the usually rugged Big East is a little easier this year as eight of the matches will be held on the Hilltop.
“Our travel schedule is going to be a little bit easier and hopefully we can do some work to get some fans in the stands because it is always easier to play in a friendly environment,” Head Coach Arlisa Williams said.
To be successful, the Hoyas will have to rely on junior captain and libero Tory Rezin for leadership.
“I’m definitely not afraid to yell,” Rezin said. “I’m a big vocal leader on the court considering I have to play defense, so that’s the biggest talker on the court.”
Rezin had 16 digs against Towson. As the team’s libero, Rezin stays on the court and does not rotate like her teammates.
To find success, Williams stressed that the younger players need to learn from team leaders, especially early on in the season, because they cannot prepare for opponents by simply watching video.
“For early games, it’s really about the Hoyas doing what we do well. We run a fast offense, play great defense, and terminate balls at a high level,” Williams said. “If we can do those things, we’re fine, regardless of whether we’ve seen video tape of our opponent or not.”
The fifth-year coach is confident that the Hoyas will put their problems behind them by learning from their mistakes, understanding what they are doing wrong, and fixing their problems, especially after all the hard work they put in during the off-season.
“We had double sessions, we played volleyball all day,” Rezin said. “We worked hard, we left a lot of sweat on the ground, a lot of bruises, blood and if anything that helped us bond more as a team.”
Georgetown will find out if their efforts will pay dividends when the team travels to College Park on Friday to play in the Maryland Invitational.
