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

One Up, One Down For Hoyas in Big East

VOLLEYBALL One Up, One Down For Hoyas in Big East By Rico Headley-Soto Hoya Staff Writer

The Hoya women came away with a disappointing weekend split of Big East conference matches as they defeated Villanova 3-1 but lost an important contest versus Rutgers 3-0. Georgetown (14-7, 7-2 Big East) swapped places in the conference standings with Rutgers (13-4, 7-1 Big East), falling from second to third and into danger of losing a spot in the Big East tournament. Villanova dropped to 6-13 overall, and a paltry 1-7 in the Big East.

The Hoyas entered their Oct. 27 match in New Brunswick, N.J. riding a five-game winning streak and feeling confident about their chances against the Scarlet Knights. However, it may have been overconfidence that caused them to leave 26-30, 28-30, 25-30 losers in straight games.

“We expected to win,” Head Coach Li Liu said. “It’s not like we don’t have the desire to win. We just need to be more focused.”

The team’s lack of focus led to an uncharacteristic 22 errors and .160 hitting percentage, .077 lower than their season average. Senior Yulia Vtyurina and junior co-captain Lauren Warner led the team with 17 and 9 kills respectively, but each also had seven errors. In addition the team totaled 16 service errors.

“[The service errors] made it difficult,” Liu said. “They came out strong. We didn’t take advantage of opportunities, and as soon as they put pressure on us we lost focus. We couldn’t pass the ball. They [the Georgetown players] were pretty mad at themselves. They felt as though it was the worst match we played all season.”

The Hoyas did a good job bouncing back with a 30-24, 30-18, 21-30, 30-14 effort over Big East doormat Villanova. Vtyurina again led the team with 24 kills and 10 digs over the four games. Junior Anna Kleinsorge turned in an impressive performance as well, with 13 kills and a .632 hitting percentage.

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