Final Stats

WASHINGTON - Despite 17 kills and a .484 hitting percentage from Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount), the Georgetown volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (24-26, 28-26, 25-19, 25-22) decision to Butler on Sunday afternoon in a BIG EAST matchup at McDonough Arena.

Williams led four Hoyas in double figures offensively. Terese Cannon (Pittsford, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) and Alex Johnson (Tampla, Fla./Plant) each finished with 16 kills and Dani White (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) added 10. Caitlin Brauneis (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) had a double-double with season highs of 55 assists and 18 digs. MacKenzie Simpson (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) led the defense with 20 digs while Johnson added 17 and Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) had 11.

Kills from Cannon, Johnson, Elizabeth Riggins (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita) and White gave Georgetown (6-10, 0-3 BIG EAST) an 8-4 lead in the first set. Butler (9-5, 1-1 BIG EAST) responded with a 9-1 run to jump ahead 14-12. Trailing 19-15, the Hoyas embarked on a 7-2 run to eliminate the deficit and take a 22-21 lead. Cannon led the charge with two kills while White, Johnson and Williams all added one. The Bulldogs jumped back in front at 24-23, but a service error and back-to-back kills from Johnson gave GU the 26-24 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set saw Butler jump out to a 5-2 lead, but kills from White, Cannon and Williams, along with a service ace by Brauneis knotted the score at eight. Still tied at 10-10, Butler used a 6-3 run to take a lead, but the Hoyas fought back eventually tying things back up at 20 on back-to-back kills from White. Kills by Johnson, White and two from Williams kept the set knotted at 24. Williams had another kill, her ninth of the set, to save set point and provide the 12th tie of the frame at 26. Butler got consecutive kills, however, to tie the match at one set apiece.

The third set was tight, with the Hoyas holding a 9-8 lead, when the Bulldogs used a 6-1 run to take a 14-10 advantage. The deficit ballooned to 18-11 before two kills by Cannon and one from Williams helped cut the gap to 19-14. Kills from Williams and White further shrunk the deficit to 21-19, but Butler scored the last four points of the set to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Butler took a 6-2 lead to start the fourth set, but back-to-back kills by Cannon and one from Riggins immediately brought the Hoyas back into a tie. Neither team could string together consecutive points until three-straight points by the Bulldogs broke an 18-18 tie. A kill by Williams pulled the Hoyas to within 23-21, but Butler eventually took the set, 25-22, and clinch the match.

"We need to capitalize on opportunities that teams give us," Georgetown Head Coach Arlisa Williams said. "I was really happy with how Ashlie Williams performed today. She had a very good match for us. She was very effective offensively and touched a lot of balls on the block. Terese Cannon also gave us some good swings and so did Alex Johnson."

GU will head out on the road for four-straight matches. The Hoyas will open the month of October at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 3 at Marquette. The road trip will also feature matches at DePaul (Saturday, October 4, 8 p.m.), Villanova (Friday, October 10, 7 p.m.) and Seton Hall (Saturday, October, 11, 7 p.m.).