Oct. 15, 2015 WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University volleyball team heads back out on the road this weekend for a pair of BIG EAST Conference matches against Xavier and Butler. The matchup with the Musketeers is set for Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. while the contest versus Butler will be on Saturday with a 6 p.m. start time.
Live stats for both matches and a webstream for the match vs. Xavier can be found on the volleyball schedule at www.guhoyas.com.
On Monday, freshman
Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll after averaging 10.09 assists per set and 2.73 digs per set in Georgetown's three matches last week. The highlight of her weekend came on Sunday against DePaul when McKnight had 50 assists and a career-high 17 digs in an exciting five-set win over DePaul that snapped GU's three-match losing streak. She also added two service aces in Sunday's win to extend her BIG EAST-leading season total to 31.
Georgetown ended a three-match losing streak with its 3-2 win over the Blue Demons. Liv King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) had a match-high 18 kills to lead three Hoyas in double figures. Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) added 17 and Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) had a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) led all players in the match with 22 digs.
Sinnette ranks fourth in the BIG EAST with 267 and seventh with 3.56 kills per set, both of which lead the Hoyas. McKnight has a team-high .290 hitting percentage while also averaging 9.68 assists per set and leading the entire BIG EAST with 31 service aces. Higareda ranks third in the BIG EAST with 4.57 digs per set.
Xavier enters Friday's contest with a 9-8 overall record and a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST play. The Musketeers are coming off of a five-set win at Seton Hall on Saturday and also own wins over Butler, St. John's, Providence and Marquette. They are led offensively by Abbey Bessler who is averaging 3.82 kills per set while Kristen Massa is right behind at 2.83 kills per set. McKena Estes and Mackenzi Humm share the setting duties, averaging 5.18 and 4.99 assists per set, resepectively. Meredith Klare leads the defense with 4.15 digs per set and Bessler is averaging 3.33.
Butler, which will host Creighton on Friday night, comes into the weekend at 5-14 with a 2-5 record in conference action. The Bulldogs have lost their last four matches, but have BIG EAST wins over Providence and DePaul. Anna Logan and Mary Streidl are the only two Bulldogs averaging more than two digs per set, coming in at 2.80 and 2.74, respectively. Makayla Ferguson is averaging 7.38 assists per set while Aki Aitsebaomo is atop the defense with 2.73 digs per set. Briana Lilly and Makaila Jarema rank fourth and fifth in the BIG EAST with 1.12 and 1.07 blocks per set, respectively.
Following this weekend, the Hoyas will return to McDonough Arena for matches against St. John's (Friday, October 23) and Providence (Sunday, October 25).
