The Georgetown women’s volleyball team (12-7, 5-2 Big East) prevailed in both its matches over the weekend, taking down Butler (5-13, 2-4 Big East) in straight sets in Indianapolis, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21, before similarly dispatching Xavier (5-13, 3-4 Big East), 25-22, 27-25, 25-23, in Cincinnati. Senior outside hitter Alyssa Sinnette led the Hoyas attack across the two matches with 23 total kills, while senior libero Kenzie Higareda anchored the defense with a total of 35 digs.
Against Butler, Georgetown found itself in a nip-and-tuck affair in the first set, with the score tied at 15. The Hoyas would win four straight points, thanks to the duo of sophomore setters Hannah Hamling and Margo Pivonka, to forge ahead and eventually take the frame.
The second set took a similar form, as the Bulldogs hung around before the Hoyas broke a 13-all tie with a 6-1 stretch, buoyed by kills from Speech and some errors from Butler.
The final set, once more, saw the Hoyas relying on a mid-frame run to separate themselves; this time, a combination of kills by Speech and Pivonka and mis-hits by the Bulldogs led to a 17-11 Hoyas lead, which resulted in a 25-21 decisive set, in favor of Georgetown.
Like the Bulldogs, the Musketeers proved to be a tough out despite not mustering a single set. After Xavier tied the first set at 20, Georgetown took the lead back thanks to two errors, including one service, by the Musketeers. Sinnette finished off the frame with two kills, giving the Hoyas a 25-22 result.
The second set saw the Hoyas nursing a slight advantage for most of the frame, before the Musketeers tied the match at 24, forcing a win-by-two tiebreaker. Georgetown took the set on back-to-back kills by sophomore outside hitter Riley Wetzberger.
During the final frame, the Hoyas relinquished a late, 20-15 lead thanks to some personal sloppiness and crisp execution on the part of the Musketeers. Xavier would even take the lead, briefly, at 23-22, but the Hoyas captured the final three points, including the last two on back-to-back kills by Speech.
The Hoyas return to action Friday against No. 10 Creighton (14-4, 6-0 Big East) at McDonough Arena, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, before taking on Providence (7-10, 1-5 Big East) on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, also at McDonough. The matches can be streamed on guhoyas.com. Follow @GUVoiceSports for breaking news and more coverage of Georgetown fall sports.
