Final Stats

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University volleyball team fell, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 25-15), to Kent State on Thursday afternoon. The match was played at the University of Wisconsin's UW Field House as part of the Badger Classic.

Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) had a match-high 13 kills to lead four Hoyas in double figures. Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) had 12 kills while Liv King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) each finished with 10. Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) totaled 43 assists while Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) tied for match-high honors with 16 digs.

Georgetown (3-5) got off to a fast start, opening up a 7-1 lead to start the set and force a quick Kent State (5-3) timeout. King and Speech each had two kills and combined for a block to fuel the opening run. However, out of the timeout, the Golden Flashes answered with six-consecutive points to tie the score, 7-7. The two sides traded points until, with the score knotted at 13, Kent State went on a 6-2 run to open a 19-15 advantage. After an error and Sinnette kill cut GU's deficit to two, 19-17, the Golden Flashes scored six of the final eight points to win the first set, 25-19.

The Hoyas again jumped ahead early in the second set, taking a quick 9-3 lead behind two kills from Speech, one each from Williams, King and Meghan Richard (Firestone, Colo./Niwot) and two dual blocks from Speech and McKnight. The lead still stood at six, 14-8, but Kent State began chipping away, eventually surging ahead, 22-20, with a 14-6 run. A kill from Speech brought GU within one, 22-21, but the Golden Flashes scored the final three points to win the set, 25-21, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

For the third-straight set, Georgetown started strong in the third frame, taking a 6-1 lead behind a Sinnette solo block, a kill from Williams and aces by Higareda and McKnight. The lead ballooned to 13-4 with individual kills from Williams, King and Speech as well as a third GU ace, this time by Williams. After Kent State cut the lead to 14-10, the Blue & Gray took complete control of the set with a 7-1 run, opening a 21-11 advantage. King started the charge with another Georgetown ace while Speech had a pair of kills and Sinnette added one of her own. Kills from Williams and Sinnette, and two more from King, gave the Hoyas the third set, 25-18.

The fourth set was back-and-forth at the beginning until, with the score tied at 12, Kent State embarked on a 9-1 run to take control, 21-13. Two more kills from Speech could not spark a Georgetown comeback as the Golden Flashes took the set, 25-15, to win the match.

The Hoyas wrap up play at the Badger Classic on Friday with a 3 p.m. ET match vs. the University of Georgia.