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

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL | Squad Struggles in Home Debut

COURTESY GUHOYAS
Sophomore middle blocker Madison Smith, middle, has 41 kills on the season.

Luke Djavaharien is a staff writer for The Hoya.

The Georgetown women’s volleyball team made its home debut at the Georgetown Classic last weekend, winning one game and losing two.

Despite coming into the tournament with a 5-1 record, the Hoyas were plagued by inconsistency as they gave up a Friday night loss to James Madison University, followed by a win against Coppin State and a loss to Buffalo on Saturday.

Fresh off being named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll this past week, junior middle blocker Symone Speech was elected to the All-Tournament Team for her standout performance over the weekend. Over the course of three games, Speech amounted a total of 42 kills, hit a .393 clip and averaged 1.00 blocks per set.

Georgetown (6-3, Big East) was all set to take on undefeated James Madison University (9-0, Colonial Athletic Association) to begin the tournament. The match went to five sets, but it was the Dukes who came out on top.

Despite the loss, junior outside hitter Olivia King and sophomore right side Madison Smith each tallied a respective 12 and 11 kills for the Blue and Gray, while junior libero Kenzie Higareda successfully dug the ball 18 times.

The next morning Georgetown sought redemption against Coppin State, sweeping the Golden Eagles in three straight sets.

The Hoyas quickly gained a competitive advantage and Georgetown Head Coach Arlisa Williams took advantage of the situation to give some of the younger players extra game time, with sophomore outside hitter Claire Mihm notching a career-high seven kills.

Nine Georgetown players recorded kills, including outside hitters junior Alyssa Sinnette and freshman Riley Wertzberger, who each had four.


The Hoyas had momentum on their side entering their final match of the weekend against Buffalo. This game proved to be a much greater challenge, however, as Buffalo came away with the victory after five sets.

Speech and Sinnette led the offensive charge with 22 and 16 kills, respectively. Speech also recorded a career-high eight blocks to boost her stat line. The final set of the match was tied at 12-12 before the Bulls jumped ahead with three consecutive points to claim the win.

With the results from the Georgetown Classic, the Hoyas dropped to 6-3 for the season. Next week, they travel to Houston to face Arkansas State on Friday at 11 a.m., Stephen F. Austin State on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and Rice University on Saturday at 11 a.m.

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