WASHINGTON - After more than two weeks of preseason practices, the Georgetown volleyball team is set to open its season on Friday evening at the D.C. Challenge. The Hoyas will open up with a 5 p.m. matchup against George Mason at American University's Bender Arena. On Saturday, GU will play both American (11 a.m.) and Howard (5 p.m.) on George Mason's campus.

GU is coming off of a 10-21 campaign in 2014, including a 4-14 record against BIG EAST opponents. In last season's D.C. Challenge, the Hoyas went 2-1 against the same teams, defeating both George Mason (3-1) and Howard (3-0), but falling to then-No. 21 American (3-0). Lauren Saar (Richland, Mich./Plainwell) was named to the all-tournament team.

George Mason, under first-year head coach Jackie Simpson, is returning 12 players from last season, including four starters. Jessie Greenslade returns for her junior season after leading Mason with 236 kills in 2014 and will be supported in attack by senior Morghan Martin, who recorded 223 kills last season. Additionally, the squad brings back its top two defenders in sophomore Sydney Fanoga and senior Lola Owokoniran, who registered 98 and 97 blocks, respectively.

American is predicted to finish atop the Patriot League in 2015, after capturing its 12th league title in the past 14 years. The Eagles are led by senior Monika Smidova, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year and predicted to repeat in 2015. Smidova averaged 9.63 assists per set, 3.06 digs per set and 1.41 kills per set last season. She is joined by fellow senior Allison Cappellino, who was also named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team, who averaged 3.21 kills per set and 3.54 digs per set in 2014.

Howard, predicted to finish atop of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), is coming off of a 20-11 season in 2014, including an 11-1 mark in the MEAC, advancing to the MEAC Championship match. Khaila Donaldson returns for her sophomore season after leading the team in kills (393) and points (467) in 2014 while Katherine Broussard comes back after a solid season where she registered 318 digs and 227 kills.

Meet the Hoyas
Georgetown will have plenty of new faces when it takes the court on Friday, sending out a roster featuring three returners - one senior and two juniors - eight freshmen and a sophomore transfer. The Hoyas boast the 29th-ranked recruiting class, out of 332 Division I volleyball programs, by prepvolleyball.com.

Hitters
Saar is the lone senior and returning outside hitter, coming back after recording 1.70 kills per set last season as a junior. For her career, Saar has averaged 2.25 kills per set while also adding 2.89 digs per set and 37 service aces.

Joining Saar on the outside are freshmen Liv King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and Alexandra Rivera (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton). King is starting her collegiate career after totaling 1,169 kills with a .279 hitting percentage, 751 service aces and 114 total blocks in her career at Lower Merion High School. Rivera led Fort Hamilton High School to back-to-back undefeated seasons and NYC Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) Division B Championships before recording 100 kills, 60 digs, 43 blocks and 26 aces as a senior.

On the right side, freshmen Mariana Sullivan (Bronxville, N.Y./Chapin School) and Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) will contribute to GU's offense. Sullivan helped lead Chapin High School to the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) quarterfinals as a sophomore, semifinals as a junior and finals as a senior, totaling 100 kills and 36 service aces as a senior. Sinnette ranked among Prepvolleyball.com's Senior Aces, was a three-time first team all-district selection and finished her career at Dawson High School with 1,337 kills, 474 digs, 119 service aces and 123 blocks.

Middle Blockers
Junior Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) is the Hoyas' top returner after finishing fourth on the team last year with 224 kills and second with 70 blocks. Willams will also see time as a right-side hitter this season. Along with Williams, freshmen Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) and Somto Egbuonu (Grand Prairie, Texas/South Grand Prairie) will be big contributors at the middle blocker position. Speech, ranked No. 67 among Prepvolleyball.com's Senior Aces, was named an All-American in 2012 and 2014. As a senior in 2014, Speech finished with 269 kills in 90 sets, an average of 2.99 kills per set, while hitting at a .340 clip. Egbuonu, who will also see time as a right-side hitter, was named to the all-district second team and earned South Grand Prairie's Best Offensive Player Award.

Setters
Freshman Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) and sophomore Meghan Richard (Firestone, Colo./Niwot), a transfer from Seattle University, will provide a fresh look at the setter position. McKnight, ranked No. 91 among Prepvolleyball.com's Senior Aces, joins the Hoyas after being named the Georgia AAAAA Player of the Year and the 2014 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year in 2014. For her career, McKnight totaled 1,419 assists, 1,165 kills, 848 digs, 381 service aces and 126.5 total blocks. Richard appeared in 22 sets for Seattle last season, registering 24 assists and seven digs. Richard finished her senior season at Niwot High School ranked fourth in the state of Colorado in assists.

Libero
Freshman Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) will take over libero duties this season. Higareda, ranked among Prepvolleyball.com's Senior Aces holds the Virginia state record with 1,913 career digs and was named the Conference 4A Player of the Year following her senior season. She played on the USA Youth National Team in 2012.