SAN DIEGO, CALIF. -- The Georgetown University women's volleyball team finished second at the 2000 San Diego Invitational Volleyball Tournament held Friday-Saturday, September 15-16, at the University of San Diego.
The Hoyas defeated host San Diego and Hofstra by identical 3-0 scores, but fell to Michigan State 3-0. GU's record moves to 6-5 on the season.
Senior outside hitter Kiran Gill (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) and junior outside hitter Yulia Vtyurina (Moscow, Russia/Moscow #1415) earned All-Tournament honors for their solid play. It was Gill's third all-tournament team award of the 2000 season. Gill tallied 44 kills, 23 digs, five blocks and three aces for the weekend, while Vtyurina notched 45 kills, 23 digs and three aces.
The Hoyas swept host San Diego on Friday by a score of 3-0 (15-13, 15-11, 15-9). Gill had a match-high 16 kills and nine digs, while Vtyurina added 11 kills and five digs. Senior middle blocker Meg Troller (Elmhurst, Ill./York) contributed 10 kills to the winning effort. She also hit a sizzling .615 (10 kills with only two errors in 13 attempts) for the match. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Warner (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) and senior middle blocker Kaili Stevens (Lenexa, Kan./Shawnee Mission West) chipped in five kills each with Warner adding four digs and Stevens a team-high four blocks. Freshman setter Jennifer Ward (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) posted a match-high 42 assists in addition to three kills and three digs. Noel Frohman led USD with 13 kills and four digs.
Georgetown then met Michigan State in its second match of the tournament. MSU defeated Georgetown 3-0 (15-10, 15-1, 15-11). The Spartans hit a season-high .460 led by Sarah Gustin's 16 kills (she hit at a .560 clip). Vtyurina and Warner led GU with 13 and 10 kills apiece, respectively. Vtyurina also tied a match-high with nine digs. Gill's stats included eight kills, five digs and two blocks, while Steven's numbers reflected seven kills and a team-high four blocks. Ward had 36 assists to go with five kills, four digs and two blocks.
GU got off to a fast 5-0 start in the first game before MSU rallied back to tie the game at five. The Hoyas surged ahead again, leading by a 7-10 margin. Again the Spartans rallied to tie the score, this time at 10, before winning the final five points and the game. Michigan State was relentless in the second game, allowing Georgetown only one point (15-1). The third game was another struggle with four tie scores before Jessica Sanborn put the Spartans ahead for good with a kill up the middle.
The Hoyas rebounded in their third and final match of the tournament, winning a 3-0 (15-5, 16-14, 15-10) decision over Hofstra. Georgetown hit .414 for the match and held Hofstra to .246. Vtyurina and Gill stepped up to lead the Hoyas with match-highs of 21 and 20 kills, respectively. Both players also posted nine digs each. Troller ended the match with 11 kills and hit a team-high .563 (11 kills with only two errors in 16 attempts). Junior outside hitter Meg Mullen (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake) posted a match-and season-high seven service aces to go with a match-high 11 digs, while Stevens added eight kills and three blocks to the winning effort. Ward recorded a match-high 55 assists in addition to four digs, two aces and two kills.
