Nov. 22, 2013
Final Stats
OMAHA, Neb. - The Georgetown volleyball team (10-19, 4-12 BIG EAST) concluded its season Friday night with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 27-25) defeat at the hands of Creighton (20-7, 11-4 BIG EAST). The Blue Jays came into the match tied for third in the conference, fighting for seeding position in next week's BIG EAST Championships.
Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) led the Hoyas with nine kills and a .273 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks. Alex Johnson (Tampa, Fla./Plant) finished with eight kills and just missed a double-double with nine digs. MacKenzie Simpson (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) led the defense with 18 digs and Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) was also in double figures with 15 digs. Emily Gisolfi (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) also had nine digs while Caitlin Brauneis (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) finished with 28 assists.
A double block from Williams and Saar and a service ace by Saar helped the Hoyas jump out to a 4-2 lead in the first set. Creighton answered with an 8-1 run, however, to take a 10-5 lead. Despite two kills from Dani White (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) and one from Johnson, the deficit expanded to 17-10. Trailing 20-14, Georgetown made a late charge with a 5-2 run to close within 22-19. Johnson had a pair of kills and Gisolfi added a service ace in the run. Three straight points by Creighton however gave the home team the first set 25-19. Johnson and Williams each had three kills in the first set while Simpson led the defense with seven digs.
Creighton scored the first three points of the second set before a kill by Williams got the Hoyas on the board. Additional kills by Annalee Abell (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) and Johnson, as well as an ace by Simpson helped cut Georgetown's deficit to 5-4. The two teams traded several points before the Blue Jays scored three consecutive points to take a 13-8 lead. Following kills by Williams and Johnson, Creighton expanded its lead to 18-10. Two kills by Saar, one from Brauneis and a solo block by White was not enough as Creighton eventually took the second set, 25-17. Saar led the Hoyas with three kills and seven digs in the second frame.
Two kills from White helped Georgetown take a quick 4-1 lead in the third set. Additional kills from Saar, Williams and Abell, as well as a block by Williams and Abell helped bring the Hoyas' lead to 9-5. Creighton eventually fought back to tie the score at 12 and, after the teams traded several side-outs, the Blue Jays took a 20-16 lead with four straight points. Two kills by Johnson and double block from White and Johnson helped the Hoyas come back to tie the score at 21. Two Creighton errors gave Georgetown a 23-22 lead. The Blue Jays tied the score at 23, but Saar immediately gave the advantage back to the Hoyas at 24-23, giving the visitors set point. Creighton knotted the score, but Williams gave Georgetown a second set point with another kill. Two consecutive kills and a service ace by the Blue Jays, however, gave them the set, 27-25, and completed the sweep.
"We fought hard for three sets, but made errors at crucial times," head coach Arlisa Williams said. "The game plan was to get the right side going with sets to Annalee and the middles on the slide. We were not in system enough to execute that and struggled with our connection to Dani. MacKenzie and Lauren had great defensive efforts and we dug a lot of balls as a team, but could not terminate in transition."
"We will miss our seniors. When we talk about the Georgetown volleyball culture, we mean competing with passion and purpose, exerting maximum effort in all that we do and striving for excellence on the court, in the classroom and in our personal lives. These three seniors - Annalee, Whitney and Brooke - define Georgetown volleyball. Even if they don't go down in the record books, they leave a significant mark on who we are as a program and where we are going."
