The Georgetown volleyball (9-15, 3-8 Big East) team went 1-1 over the weekend homestand, falling on Friday to St. John’s (15-10, 5-5 Big East) in straight sets (25-20, 25-12, 25-13), before bouncing back on Sunday against Providence, prevailing in four sets (25-19, 20-25, 25-9, 25-17).
Against St. John’s, the Hoyas fell victim to strong runs from the Red Storm, conceding a 9-2 spurt in the first set that put the visitors up 24-18, and falling behind 9-0 to start the second set. The third set was more tightly contested, as both teams exchanged leads throughout before St. John’s took a 24-21 advantage. Georgetown would battle back with two points, but the Red Storm finished the deal at 25-23. Freshman middle blocker Symone Speech led the Hoyas with 10 kills against just one attacking error, and freshman setter Paige McKnight added 28 assists and a career-high four blocks.
The Hoyas turned in a much more balanced performance against the Friars, hitting at a relatively efficient 0.312 attacking percentage and seeing double figure kills from three different players. Speech turned in one of the best performances of her young career, with 14 kills on a 0.455 kill percentage. McKnight added 44 assists and six digs, and freshman outside hitter Liv King chipped in with 10 kills, four service aces, and six digs.
King attributed the difference between Friday and Sunday’s matchups to a difference in mentality. The Hoyas were less concerned about making mistakes, and more able to hit with confidence.
“We just knew that we had to minimize our errors and not think about it as much, so once we did that we were fine.”
Add that to an improved cohesiveness, and it is easy to see how the young Hoyas are adjusting to the grind of Big East play. Speech talked about a chemistry between players of sensing where to set up and hit.
“Paige is very good at and checking and seeing where the hitters are. When she’d set, she’d lead me to just the right spot. So really good setting up by Paige,” said Speech.
Both Speech and King realize that the slow starts that plagued the Hoyas against St. John’s were traceable to the issues that have challenged them all year; coming out of the gate strong, and playing aggressively.
“Energy. Playing together. Confidence, too,” said Speech. “Especially when we get a server on the endline that keeps serving, it’s really helpful. It’s easier for us to set it up, which eventually leads to the server serving up.”
“Yeah it (coming out strong) also builds our confidence as well, because when we’re up by that much we’re not worried about falling behind,” said King.
King summed up that the team needs to play like they did on Sunday, as opposed to Friday:
“Don’t think about it as much. Just go out, do our jobs, have fun.”
The Hoyas return to action Friday at 7:00 pm against Seton Hall (11-12, 5-6 Big East), in South Orange, N.J.
