Aug 31, 2013
Box Score
WASHINGTON - After a very strong showing in the opening match of the DC Challenge, Georgetown (1-1) found itself on the losing end of a 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-22) sweep by American University on Saturday afternoon.
Lauren Saar provided the spark for the Hoyas, registering a team-high 11 kills, adding seven digs, while Dani White, Annalee Abell and Alex Johnson each tallied five kills apiece. MacKenzie Simpson led GU with 14 digs, while freshman Caitlin Brauneis added a team-best 25 assists in the loss.
After the Hoyas found themselves in a 6-3 hole to open the first set, American handed Georgetown two points via attack errors to bring things to 6-5. The Blue & Gray managed to take a 9-8 lead, but AU opened up a strong run of its own.
The Eagles took 12 of the next 14 points as they were able to control the net and take advatage of misplaced Hoya shots. GU managed to attempt to comeback from the 22-11 deficit, including a big-time kill from Lauren Saar, but eventually AU managed to take the opening set, 25-14.
American kept its momentum up through the second frame and limited its errors. The Eagles only had one error to the Hoyas' five, which kept Georgetown at bay.
Saar, Alex Johnson and Dani White kept GU in the mix during the second set, but thanks to three service aces, American went on a string of runs to take a 25-13 set and a 2-0 lead into the lockerrooms.
Georgetown came out with a spark, taking an early 2-1 lead thanks to a service error to open things up and a big kill from Annalee Abell. From there, each side traded points until things were knotted at 12 apiece. Both Abell and Elizabeth Riggins were key in the set with timely kills to keep the Hoyas in the mix.
After an AU service error tied the third set at 19 all, the Eagles used a pair of kills each from Kristyna Lindovska and Monika Smidova to reach match point. White kept things interesting with a kill to make it 24-22, but one final well-placed ball from Bree Sarborough gave American the three-set sweep (25-14, 25-13, 25-22).
Georgetown returns to Bender Arena at 5 p.m. Saturday to square off with the Howard Bison in the final game of the DC Challenge.
