Oct. 20, 2006
Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University volleyball team welcomes BIG EAST Conference opponents Rutgers and Villanova to McDonough Arena this weekend. The Blue and Gray host Rutgers on Friday, October 20 at 8 p.m. and follow up with a Sunday matchup against Villanova at 2 p.m.
The Hoyas (6-13, 0-6 BE) are in search of their first BIG EAST Conference win of the season. GU split a pair of games last weekend, defeating UMBC 3-1 in a non-league matchup and dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to conference opponent South Florida. The win over the Retrievers snapped an eight-match losing streak for the Hoyas. Standout senior Annie Connor (Los Altos, Calif./St. Francis) is second on the team with 196 kills and leads the team with 72 blocks while maintaining a .229 attack percentage. Sophomore Jessica Buffum (San Jose, Calif./Lynbrook) leads the team with 260 kills and recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 14 digs against USF. Freshmen Kiersten McKoy (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd) has been a standout on the squad with a .284 attack percentage and 25 blocks in 40 game appearances.
Rutgers (5-12, 2-2 BE) is 12th in the league and is on a three-match losing streak, dropping three-straight road conference matches at Louisville, Cincinnati and Villanova. The Scarlet Knights have yet to win a game since October 1 when the defeated West Virginia, 3-0, at home. Rutgers and Georgetown share two common opponents (Pittsburgh, West Virginia), the Hoyas carry a 0-2 record while the Scarlet Knights split the matches. In last year's meeting (October 9, 2005), Rutgers took a 3-0 decision.
Villanova stands even at 11-11 overall with a 4-3 mark in league play, placing them eighth in the BIG EAST Conference. The Wildcats are led by Alona Cherkez who has 313 kills, 29 total blocks and maintains a .227 attack percentage. Villanova won a pair of games last weekend with a 3-2 win over non-league opponent Lehigh and a 3-0 decision over Rutgers. Villanova won, 3-1, in its last matchup against the Hoyas on October 8, 2005. The Wildcats travel to USF on Friday, October 20 for a 7 p.m. matchup.
