Final Stats

WASHINGTON - Despite winning the first set, the Georgetown University volleyball team lost a road match to Xavier University, 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-18), on Friday afternoon in a BIG EAST Conference matchup at Xavier's Cintas Center.

The win dropped the Hoyas to 8-13 overall and 2-6 in the BIG EAST, while Xavier improved to 10-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play.

Liv King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) led the Hoya attack with 13 kills while Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) each had 12. Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) just missed out on a double-double with nine kills and nine digs. Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) finished with a match-high 40 assists, while Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) led all players in the match with 21 digs.

First Set The Hoyas used a .457 team hitting percentage, led by Williams who had six kills and hit at a .857 clip, to take the opening set, 25-23. After calling timeout with Xavier leading by three, 18-15, Georgetown used a 7-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. The Musketeers tied things back up at 22, but GU scored three of the final four points to win the frame. King had four kills in the set and teamed up twice with Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) for dual blocks. McKnight contributed 14 assists and Higareda led the defense with six digs.

Second Set After the two teams went back and forth for most of the set, Xavier scored four-straight points to snap a 17-17 tie and pull away for a 25-22 set victory. King and Saar each had four kills to lead Georgetown's offense while Higareda topped all players with eight digs. McKnight added 11 more assists.

Third Set The Hoyas could not climb out of an early hole as Xavier jumped ahead, 6-1, and pulled away for a 25-17 set victory. Williams had three kills in the set while Saar and Sinnette each had two. Saar and Higareda tied for team-high honors with three digs apiece.

Fourth Set After GU took a quick 4-1 lead, Xavier responded with a 14-4 run to open a 15-8 advantage. The Hoyas could not mount a comeback as the Musketeers took the fourth set, 25-18, to clinch the match. Sinnette led Georgetown's offense with five kills while King added four. McKnight had eight assists and Higareda added four more digs.

Season Notes For the season, Sinnette leads the Hoyas with 279 kills and 3.53 kills per set. McKnight has as a team high .304 hitting percentage while also averaging 9.70 assists per set and leading the entire BIG EAST with 31 service aces. Speech leads the front court with 0.69 blocks per set, while Higareda is atop the defense with 4.61 digs per set.

Georgetown will conclude the weekend on Saturday with a 6 p.m. match at Butler.