Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Ailing GU Falls to Villanova

Hit with two costly injuries, the Georgetown University women’s volleyball team managed a win against the University of Delaware and suffered a loss to Big East opponent Villanova.

The Hoyas traveled to the University of Delaware Wednesday, Oct. 30 to face the Blue Hens. Just recently returning from a sidelining injury, senior middle blocker Anna Kleinsorge led the team to a 3-2 (30-25, 26-30, 24-30, 30-23, 15-8) victory.

The win came without the help of three starters: junior setter Jen Ward, sophomore middle blocker Sara Albert, who sprained her ankle, and senior outside hitter Lauren Warner, who was sidelined after a wrist injury. Kleinsorge played a remarkable match, hitting 0.486 and posting 20 kills, five digs and a match-high seven blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Ashley Lancaster stepped up her game, turning in her best performance of the 2002 season. She finished the night with a career-high 15 kills, three blocks and two assists. Sophomore setter Margaret Vernon dished out 48 assists, eight digs and six kills, while ending the match with the best hitting percentage of 0.750.

“Even though we did not have our starting lineup, we made the adjustments . freshman Ashley really stepped up and we played with a lot of confidence,” Head Coach Li Liu said.

Continuing the underclassman trend, freshman outside hitter Natasha Nguyen recorded 15 digs, seven kills, four blocks and a match-high six service aces. Freshman outside hitter Rachel Nelson tallied 11 digs, 10 kills, four assists, three blocks and three aces.

The Hoyas returned to McDonough Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 1, to resume their quest for one of the top spots in the Big East division. Georgetown entered the match with a 4-4 record, while Villanova stood at 2-6 in Big East play.

Georgetown dominated the first two games, winning both 30-27 and 30-20. Unfortunately, the quick 2-0 lead was followed by three straight victories by the Wildcats. The Hoyas lost the remaining three games 22-30, 26-30, 10-15.

“When we play any team, we cannot ease up . we played too relaxed after the first two games . it was a mental error we made,” Liu said. Instead of being negative about the loss, we are concentrating on what to do better every time we step out on the court.”

Warner returned from her injury, claiming her 16th double-double of the season with 22 kills and a season-high 20 digs. Nguyen broke the record for number of service aces in a single season, walking away with four aces, eight kills, 13 digs and four blocks. The former record of 80 was set in 1988 by Tina Schneider.

Vernon played an outstanding game contributing a career and match-high 54 assists along on top of six kills, 14 digs and two blocks. Kleinsorge finished with 11 kills and four blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Julie Grauert added nine digs playing in the libero position.

The loss drops the Hoyas to 4-5 in the Big East conference and 14-12 overall. The Hoyas face Boston College this Friday, Nov. 8, another Big East rival. The game has been pushed back from 7 to 8 p.m.

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