Sep 6, 2013
Box Score
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Needing a solid victory after a tough early morning loss, the Georgetown women's volleyball team did just that with a dominating 3-0 (25-17, 25-9, 25-23) sweep of North Carolina Central in the Campbell Tournament. Nine Hoyas landed kills against the Eagles, led by Lauren Saar with 12.
Dani White added eight kills and five blocks, while Elizabeth Riggins had her best match of the season with six kills. Alex Johnson and MacKenzie Simpson both led the way defensively, racking up 11 and 12 digs, respectively.
"This morning was a heartbreaker," Head Coach Arlisa Williams said after the second match of the day. "We played well and came up short. The players showed a lot of fight and composure. I was proud of their effort but wish we had taken care of the little things. The little things make a big difference.
"This evening everyone had the opportunity to contribute," Williams continued. "We played a solid match after starting out a little slow. Now it's time to regroup to take on a hardworking Campbell team."
Georgetown started slowly in the first set against NCCU, finding itself in a small, 6-4 hole in the early going. Three Eagle errors and a Brook Bachesta kill wrapped up a nice Hoya run as they took an 8-6 lead. But eventually, Central reeled off four in a row and reclaimed a lead at 12-9 following an Ashley McCarthy kill. Bachesta and White recorded back-to-back kills, jumpstarting the GU attack. After Johnson tied things up at 13 apiece, the Hoyas found themselves on the verge of a 6-0 run, thanks to three kills from Saar in the meantime, to give them a 23-15 advantage. When it was all said and done, the Hoyas collected eight of the final 10 points in the frame to take a 25-17 win.
The second set was a different story for the Hoyas, a more dominant performance all-around after a close call. NCCU played it tough and tied drew itself within two points, 7-5, in the early going, but the Hoyas went off after the scare. Three Central attack errors in a row, followed by back-to-back kills from Riggins, kick started a 15-2 run to close out the dominating set. During that run, Annalee Abell held an impressive service run, landing three aces in a row to stump the Eagles. Almost fitting for the set, the frame was ended by an attack error to give GU a 25-9 win.
With one set between the Hoyas and their first sweep of the season, NCCU was not about to give up. The Eagles shot out of the gate to a 4-1 lead to start things off. Kills from Saar, White and Ashlie Williams evened the ledger at 5-5, but the Eagles resurfaced for three straight of their own after two GU errors and an ace. Once again, the Blue & Gray had a mini-run, evening the contest at 9-9 before taking a 10-9 lead. The two squads continued to battle, reaching a tie score five more times, but Georgetown never relinquished its lead and held on to a 25-23 lead, thanks to two Saar kills that helped clinch the sweep.
Georgetown, looking for its fourth win of the season, will face Campbell in the tournament finale at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
