Nov. 12, 2015 WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University volleyball team begins its season-closing homestand this weekend with a pair of BIG EAST Conference matches at McDonough Arena. The Hoyas will play host to Butler on Friday at 8 p.m. before battling Xavier at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Live stats and a webstream for both matches can be found on the volleyball schedule at www.guhoyas.com. The first 50 students to Friday's match will receive a GU Snap Bracelet and there will also be a post-game Meet & Greet with the team that is open to all fans in attendance. On Sunday, Kids Club members will enjoy an exclusive pre-game pizza party with Jack the Bulldog. Fans are also asked to bring canned good for a Canned Food Drive to be donated to the food bank at S.O.M.E (So Others May Eat).
Going into this weekend, a pair of Hoyas are approaching major milestones. Senior
Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) needs just eight kills to become the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 digs for her career. Freshman
Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) needs just 27 kills over the final three matches to become the first Hoya since 2002 to reach 350 kills in a season.
Georgetown (10-18, 4-11 BIG EAST) lost a pair of road BIG EAST matches last weekend, falling to DePaul and Marquette in straight sets. Freshman libero Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) recorded her 476th dig of the season against Marquette, setting the program record for digs in a season.
For the season, Sinnette leads the Hoyas with 323 kills and 3.51 kills per set. Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) leads the front court with 0.75 blocks per set and has a team-high .292 hitting percentage. Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) is averaging 9.66 assists per set and leads the team with 35 service aces, while Higareda is atop the defense with 4.58 digs per set.
Butler comes into Friday's match with a 10-17 overall record and a 6-8 mark in the BIG EAST. When the two teams met last month in Indianapolis, the Bulldogs defeated the Hoyas, 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 29-27, 25-21), despite double-double efforts from Sinnette, Saar and McKnight. Higareda had a match-high 24 digs, leading five Georgetown players in double figures. The Bulldogs are led by Anna Logan, who has team highs of 320 kills and 266 digs. Mary Striedl is right behind her with 295 kills, while Makayla Ferguson is averaging 7.83 assists per set. Briana Lilly is second in the BIG EAST with 1.23 blocks per set.
Xavier enters the weekend at 15-10 and 11-3 in conference play. The Musketeers, who have already clinched a berth in the BIG EAST Championships, will play at Creighton on Friday. GU fell to Xavier, 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-18), in Cincinnati in October. Liv King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion), Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and Sinnette were all in double figures in kills, while Higareda had a match-high 21 digs. Abbey Bessler leads the Musketeers, and ranks fourth in the BIG EAST, with 3.76 kills per set. McKena Estes and Mackenzi Humm share the setting duties, averaging 5.43 and 5.26 assists per set, respectively, while Meredith Klare leads the defense with 4.06 digs per set.
Following this weekend, Georgetown will close out the 2015 season with a home contest against Creighton on Friday, Nov. 20. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m. at McDonough Arena. The match will be will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
