September 14, 2002 Washington, DC ? The Georgetown University women?s volleyball team won the 2002 Georgetown Classic on Saturday, September 14, in McDonough Gym.  The Hoyas defeated Valparaiso University 3-2 in their first match of the day, then handed the University of Pennsylvania a 3-0 loss.  With the victory, Georgetown improves to 7-3 on the season, while Valparaiso moves to 4-3 and UPenn drops to 1-2.

In addition to earning the tournament title, senior outside hitter Lauren Warner (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) was named Most Valuable Player, while sophomore middle blocker Sara Albert (Davis, Calif./Davis) and freshman Rachel Nelson (Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis) were selected to the All-Tournament Team.  Also earning All-Tournament Team honors were Long Island?s Christina Pintilie, UPenn?s Elisabeth Kwak-Heffernan and Stacey Carter, and Valparaiso?s Cyndi Norman and Michelle Robinson.

Warner registered a match and career-high 25 kills in Georgetown?s 3-2 (26-30, 30-19, 23-30, 30-18, 15-9) triumph over Valparaiso.  She also tallied 14 digs, two aces, a block an assist and a hitting percentage of .340 (25 kills, 7 errors, 53 attempts).  Nelson stepped up with 13 kills, 12 digs and an assist, while Albert recorded a match-high seven blocks, including three solos, to go with 11 kills and a .417 hitting percentage (11 kills with just one error in 24 attempts). 

Junior setter Jen Ward (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) handed out a match-high 57 assists in addition to nine digs, two blocks and two kills.  Freshman Natasha Nguyen (El Segundo, Calif./El Segundo) posted a match-high five service aces.  She also had nine kills, 16 digs and two blocks.  Sophomore libero Julie Grauert?s (Lake Oswego, Ore./Jesuit) performance included a match-high 17 digs, and senior middle blocker Anna Kleinsorge (San Francisco, Calif./St. Francis) added six kills and a block.  Kleinsorge also hit a solid .308.

Junior outside hitter Michelle Robinson led Valparaiso with 20 kills and 16 digs.  Junior outside hitter Marion Hansen notched 19 kills and a .405 hitting percentage, and junior setter Cyndi Norman dished out 42 assists.

The Hoyas hit .265 for the match, while holding the Crusaders to just .198.  Valparaiso held a 9-8 edge in team blocks; however, Georgetown had a 10-7 advantage in service aces.

Warner and Nelson contributed 12 kills apiece in Georgetown?s victory over Pennsylvania.  Warner?s stats also included 11 digs, two aces and two assists, and Nelson?s six digs and a .423 hitting percentage (12 kills with just one error in 26 attempts).  Kleinsorge tallied the match?s highest hitting percentage with a .588 average (11 kills with only one error in 17 attempts).  She also had a match-high four blocks, including two solo stops.

Ward finished the three games with a match-high 39 assists as well as nine digs, while Nguyen was credited with a match-high eight service aces, just one shy of her career best set on Friday.  Nguyen also chipped in four kills and five digs.  Albert scored eight kills, three aces and two blocks, and Grauert added 13 digs and two assists.

Junior outside hitter Elisabeth Kwak-Heffernan was the Quakers? leading attacker.  Kwak Heffernan posted 10 kills and 10 digs on the evening.  Senior outside hitter Stacey Carter had nine kills, and junior setter Meghan Schloat 23 assists.

Georgetown hit .231 for the match and Pennsylvania just .160.  The Hoyas also held a two-to-one advantage in aces (14-7). 

Next up for the Hoyas is a road trip to the Chapel Hill/Durham, N.C. area to participate in the Duke/North Carolina Tournament on Friday-Saturday, September 20-21.