The Georgetown volleyball team (2-1, 0-0 Big East) won back-to-back matches against George Mason (0-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10) and Howard (2-2, 0-0 Mid Eastern Athletic Conference) to finish this past weekend’s D.C. Challenge with a record of 2-1. The Hoyas dropped their tournament opener to American 3-0 (4-0, 0-0 Patriot League) on Friday, but then recovered on Saturday to win both of their games against the Patriots and Bison, 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.
On the offensive end, junior outside hitter Lauren Saar hit home 11 and then 10 kills in Saturday’s games, leading the team in both games. She was rewarded for her efforts with a spot on this week’s Big East Honor Roll, as she opened this season averaging 3.8 digs and 3.2 kills per set, putting her near the top of the conference in both categories. The Hoyas will certainly look to Saar for leadership and big-game performances for the rest of their 2014 campaign.
Senior libero Mackenzie Simpson recorded 23 digs in the first game and 15 in the second, giving her over 1,000 for her career. Georgetown Head Coach Arlisa Williams couldn’t have been happier with the contributions of both Simpson and Saar to this weekend’s success. For her, the Simpson and Saar duo provides a boost to the rest of the team’s energy and performance when they play well.
“They have worked so hard in the gym to garner the respect of their teammates. Mack [Simpson] is all over the place defensively,” said Williams. “Lauren has a lot of game in her, she has a lot of shots … When they’re playing well, and they’re gelling, the whole team just kind of rides them.”
Next, the team will travel north for the Crown Plaza Philadelphia West Invitational, where they will take on Cleveland State (2-2, 0-0 Horizon League) on Friday. They’ll finish out the weekend playing Colgate Saturday morning and the University of Pennsylvania later Saturday night. The team is confident that if they continue to improve, it’s possible they could outperform the expectations set for them at the onset of this year.
“Right now we’re just trying to get better. If we can do that, I think we could have a really fun year and take some teams by surprise,” said Williams.
