The Georgetown women’s volleyball team (7-19, 1-13 Big East) dropped both of its weekend matches at home, losing in straight sets (28-26, 25-23, 25-19) to St. John’s (14-15, 6-8 Big East) before losing a nail-biter (20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 18-25, 15-9) to Seton Hall (15-13, 9-6 Big East).
Junior middle blocker Symone Speech led the Hoyas against the Red Storm with 13 kills and 5 blocks, while junior outside hitter Alyssa Sinnette tallied 12 kills and 13 digs for an offense-defense double-double. Junior setter Paige McKnight chipped in with a match-high 36 assists for the Hoyas, who have now dropped 11 matches in a row, with their last victory coming on September 29th.
Despite losing in straight sets to the Johnnies, the Hoyas were never outmatched in any of the three individual frames. The first set was marked by back-and-forth play, as neither side led by more than three points, and there were 20 ties to go along with nine lead changes. After McKnight set up Sinnette for a kill to tie the game at 26, the Red Storm took the next two points, on a Hoya attack error followed by a service ace, to secure the first frame. The Hoyas were also in a position to take the second set, jumping out to an early 4-1 advantage and even leading 22-20 later in the frame. However, the Johnnies were able to capitalize on another back-breaking run, finishing the set on a 5-1 stretch. In the third and final set, the Hoyas managed to record a better hitting percentage than the Red Storm, yet fell victim to another St John’s avalanche. This time, the Red Storm broke a 15-all tie by embarking on a 10-4 run.
The Hoyas competed at a high level once more against Seton Hall, but this time managed to earn a five-set marathon of a match. Speech poured in 29 kills, 9 digs, and 6 blocks while Sinnette recorded another double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Junior libero Kenzie Higareda also added 15 digs. After taking the opening set thanks to Speech’s nine kills, the Hoyas dropped the following two frames both by the score of 25-17. Georgetown forced a fifth set by way of a stellar 0.455 hitting rate and another nine kills from Speech, who helped ensure that the Hoyas stayed ahead throughout the frame. In the fifth and final set, however, the Hoyas could not battle back against the Pirates, who took control early with a 5-2 lead, forcing a Hoya timeout, and closed on a 5-1 lead to capture the final set and the match.
The Hoyas return to action next Friday, taking on Marquette (17-8, 11-3 Big East) in Milwaukee, WI at 6:00 pm before traveling to Chicago to face DePaul (8-18, 2-12 Big East) for a 2:00 pm start on Sunday.
