Oct. 16, 2009
Final Stats
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Georgetown University volleyball team (11-12, 1-6 BIG EAST) led late in the final two sets but could not close out the Golden Eagles, as Marquette (13-8, 3-4 BIG EAST) defeated the Hoyas 3-0 (20-25,22-25,25-27) on Midnight Madness eve at the Al McGuire Center at Marquette.
Ashley Malone (San Jose, St. Francis) had 32 assists, eight kills, six digs and two block assists, while Paris Coleman (Inglewood, Calif./Brentwood Academy) had four kills and 12 digs.
Marquette took control of the first set from the opening serve, taking a 3-0 lead and never trailing, despite the Hoyas hitting .300. Kortney Robinson (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) led the way for GU in the first set with four kills, while hitting .800, but the Golden Eagles' Nikki Klingsporn had 14 assists to guide her hitters to a .433 hitting efficiency on the way to a 25-20 victory.
The Hoyas defensive efforts picked up in the second set, as they outblocked and outdug Marquette, while holding the Eagles to a .100 hitting percentage. Sara Manley (Dove Canyon, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) had two block solos for the Hoyas. The teams traded points throughout the set with nine tie scores and four lead changes, with Georgetown leading as late as 22-20, but Marquette rallied to score the last five points to earn a 25-22 second set victory to take a 2-0 advantage.
After falling behind by two to open the third set, the Hoyas seemingly took control, going on a 6-1 run. They would slowly expand the lead, going up by as many as seven at the 20-13 mark. Vanessa Dorismond (Cary, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) had three kills and three total blocks to help the Hoyas open the lead, but they would fall apart down the stretch. Marquette went on an 8-1 run to close the gap to one point, before eventually taking a 25-24 lead, their first since being in front 2-1. The Golden Eagles scored two of the next three points to take the set 27-25, clinching the match.
The loss pushes the Hoyas to a season-long four match losing streak. They will try to snap the streak on Sunday when they travel to take on Syracuse to take on the Orange at 2 p.m.
