Final Stats

WASHINGTON - Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) and Terese Cannon (Pittsford, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) each finished with 12 kills, but it was not enough as the Georgetown volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) to Cleveland State on Friday evening. The match, part of the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Invitational, was played at the historic Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

Along with her 12 kills, Saar only had one attack error for a .440 hitting percentage. She also had 11 digs to complete her third double-double of the year. Dani White (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) finished with nine kills and a .368 hitting percentage. Caitlin Brauneis (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) contributed 32 assists and eight digs while MacKenzie Simpson (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) led the Hoyas with 14 digs.

"We played tough at times and uninspired at others," Georgetown Head Coach Arlisa Williams said. "Lauren and Dani were really good tonight, but we need more production from the right side."

Cleveland State (3-2) took an early 12-5 lead in the first set, but two separate 4-0 runs by the Hoyas (2-2) helped the Blue & Gray come back to take a 15-14 lead. Kills by Cannon and White sparked the first run to cut the deficit to 12-9 before. After both teams traded points, with the score 14-11 in favor of the Vikings, a kill by Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and back-to-back kills by Saar fueled the second 4-0 run, giving the Hoyas their first lead at 15-14. The score would remain tight, with neither team going ahead by more than one point until Cleveland State rattled off three-consecutive points to take a 21-18 lead. GU could not cut the gap, falling 25-22 in the opening frame.

Four-straight points, on a kill by White and three Cleveland State errors, helped the Hoyas turn a one-point deficit into a 9-6 lead in the second set. A kill from Saar and another error increased Georgetown's advantage to 11-7. A few points later, a kill from Elizabeth Riggins (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita) and a service ace by Saar further extended the lead to 14-9, forcing a Cleveland State timeout. Out of the break, the Vikings went on a 9-1 run to jump ahead, 18-16. With the score 20-18, Cleveland State scored five of the final seven points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Two kills from Cannon and one from both White and Brauneis gave the Hoyas an early 6-3 lead in the third set. Georgetown was able to hold that lead until, after a kill by Saar gave GU a 19-17 lead, Cleveland State moved into the lead, 23-19, with a 6-0 run. The Hoyas pulled to within two on kills by Cannon and Saar, but the Vikings closed the set, winning 25-22, and the match.

Georgetown will return to the court on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. against Colgate before wrapping up against Penn at 7:30 p.m. Live stats for both matches can be found HERE and the match versus Penn will be streamed live for free on the Ivy League Digital Network .