Final Stats | Photo Gallery

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown volleyball team opened its weekend on Friday evening with a strong 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-18, 29-27) win over a good Hampton team. The victory was GU's first match of the Tiny Laster Memorial Classic, hosted by Hampton.

Georgetown was led by three players in double figures in kills. Dani White (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) finished with a team-high 13 kills and a .300 hitting percentage while Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) added 11 kills. Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) contributed 10 kills with a shining .444 hitting percentage. Caitlin Brauneis (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) had 43 assists while MacKenzie Simpson (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) had a match-high 19 digs.

Georgetown (5-3) jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first set behind a kill from Williams and two service aces by Alex Johnson (Tampa, Fla./Plant). Hampton (5-4) came back to tie the score, but kills by Terese Cannon (Pittsford, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) and White, and two errors by the Pirates, gave the Hoyas a the lead back at 17-13. Hampton eventually used three-consecutive points to tie the score at 19, and the score remained knotted as each team traded points. Shannon Ellis (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) combined with Williams for a block before slamming down a kill of her own to help keep the score tied. With each team sitting at 23, Cannon provided her third kill of the set before another Hampton error gave GU the 25-23 set win.

The second set was tied 13-13 before Hampton finished the frame with a 12-4 run to tie the match at one set apiece.

The Hoyas used a 4-0 run in the third set to turn a 5-4 deficit into an 8-5 advantage. The run was bookended by kills from White and Johnson provided another service ace. The Pirates closed within one, 12-11, but GU answered with a 5-2 run, highlighted by a kill from Johnson, to extend the lead to 17-13. With the advantage at 18-16, the Hoyas scored seven of the final nine points of the set, on single kills from Saar, Williams and Cannon as well as a dual block from Ellis and White, to close out the set, 25-18 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Hampton opened up a 10-4 advantage to start the fourth set, but two aces by White and a kill from Saar helped the Hoyas cut the deficit to just two at 11-9. A 10-5 run by the Pirates made a fifth set seem inevitable as the Blue & Gray found themselves in a 21-14 hole. However, a 6-1 run brought GU back to within two, at 22-20. Skill from White, Williams and Johnson, as well as another ace by White helped close the gap. Following a Hampton point, back-to-back kills by Williams and an error by the Pirates tied the score at 23. The teams traded points, with each side surviving a set point before Cannon slammed down her seventh kill before teaming up with White for a block to give the Hoyas a 29-27 set win and the match.

"Ashlie (Williams) and Dani (White) did a great job in the middle, which made a huge difference for us," Georgetown Head Coach Arlisa Williams said. "We played competitive, focused volleyball tonight and worked hard to the finish. I was super proud of the way we finished the fourth set. We worked hard to climb out of a big hole and showed real grit."

Georgetown bounces right back on Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. match against Presbyterian.