Final Stats

WASHINGTON - Georgetown University's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16) decision to visiting Villanova in BIG EAST action on Saturday night. The Hoyas fall to 6-17 overall, 2-8 in league play, and split their season series with the Wildcats.

Three Hoyas notched double-figure kills in the match, led by Liv King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) with 13 each. Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) added 12. Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) paced the offense with 45 assists.

Sinnette recorded her sixth double-double of the season, tallying 12 digs to go with her 13 kills. Kenzie Higareda (Woodbrifge, Va./Forest Park) also hauled in double-digit digs with a match-high 18. At the net, Sinnette, Speech and Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) were all credited with three blocks on the night.

A back-and-forth start to the first half saw Georgetown take a 5-4 lead before the Wildcats (15-8, 6-4 BIG EAST) rallied with a 9-3 run to force a GU timeout at 13-8. The Hoyas would keep pace with their guests and take another timeout to regroup down 20-13, but Villanova scored five of the final 10 points to claim the 25-18 victory in the set.

Georgetown came out swinging in the second set, recording an impressive 16 kills with only one error for a sizzling .429 hitting percentage. Four different Hoyas notched at least three kills in the frame, led by five from Sinnette. Despite the solid offensive performance by the Blue & Gray, it was an emphatic combo block from Williams and Sinnette that sealed the 25-23 win for the Hoyas.

"We knew from the beginning that Villanova was going to come out wanting some revenge and they played very, very tough," Head Coach Arlisa Williams added. "I was very proud of how we fought in the second set and showed some grit."

In the third, Georgetown jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead before the Wildcats began their comeback. Villanova would slowly chip away at the GU lead before taking the advantage at 11-10 and forcing a Hoya timeout. Coming out the break, both squads traded points before a 4-0 VU run gave the edge to the visitors. Georgetown would cut the deficit to just two late, including down 23-21, but couldn't complete the comeback attempt.

Villanova flipped the script to start the fourth set and jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The Hoyas wouldn't be able to pull any closer than five points the rest of the stanza as the Wildcats sealed the match with a 25-16 victory in the set.

Claire Crutchfield led Villanova with a match-high 18 kills while Amanda Pederson-Henry added 11.

The Hoyas continue their BIG EAST homestand with a pair of conference showdowns against DePaul and Marquette next weekend.