Howard Box Score | George Mason Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - The Georgetown University volleyball team used a balanced scoring effort on Saturday, earning a split in a pair of matches against Howard University and George Mason University at George Mason's RAC Gym as part of the D.C. Challenge. The Hoyas (1-2) fell to the Bison, 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-22), before coming back to defeat the Patriots, 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 25-15) in the nightcap.

Senior Ashlie Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) was named to the all-tournament team after totaling 32 kills, six blocks and hitting at a .319 clip over the tournament's three matches.

Howard 3, Georgetown 1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-22)
Liv King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) tied for match-high honors with 16 kills while Williams and Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) each added nine kills. Paige McKnight (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody) had 40 assists and completed her second-straight double-double with 14 digs. Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) led all players in the match with 19 digs and Sinnette was also in double figures with 11 digs.

The Hoyas hit at a .165 clip for the match and had 62 digs and six blocks on defense. However, Howard led in service aces, 8-3, and registered a .174 hitting percentage while recording eight blocks.

Set 1
The Bison (2-0) held a three-point advantage early until GU used a 5-1 run to take its first lead, 12-11. Williams started the run with back-to-back kills and Sinnette and King each added a kill. A kill from King and a big dual block from King and Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) eventually gave the Hoyas a 16-14 lead, forcing a Howard timeout. A Caitlin Brauneis (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) ace, kill by King and block from Speech and McKnight spurred a 3-0 run that extended the advantage to 20-15. Howard cut the lead to just two, 23-21, before a kill from Sinnette and Bison error gave the Hoyas the opening set, 25-21. King led the offense with five kills in the opening set while Speech and Williams each added three. Speech also added three blocks and Higareda had six digs.

Set 2
After a back-and-forth first half of the set, Howard used a quick run of four-straight points to erase a 13-11 GU lead and put the Hoyas in a 15-13 hole. The Blue & Gray fought back to take a 20-18 lead on kills by Williams and Sinnette, but could not extend the advantage. Trailing 23-22, King knotted the score again with a kill, but Howard scored the final two points to take the set, 25-22, and tie the match at one. King dominated the offense in the second set, leading all players with eight kills. McKnight contributed with 11 assists while tying with Higareda for team-high honors with six digs.

Set 3
King continued her hot hand, slamming down the first three kills of the third set to help the Hoyas to a quick 4-0 lead. Howard answered with a 5-1 run to tie the score and, with Georgetown leading 10-9, used a 10-2 streak to take control of the set, 19-12. The Hoyas could not climb back into the set, eventually falling, 25-14. McKnight finished with four digs in the set while Sinnette and Higareda each added three.

Set 4
Howard scored five consecutive points to snap a 14-14 tie and move ahead, 19-14. Kills from Madison Smith and Speech, as well as an ace from Feld, helped GU cut the deficit to two, 21-19, but the Hoyas could not cut into the lead any more. Despite two kills from Sinnette and one from Williams, the Bison took the fourth set, 25-22, to win the match, 3-1. Sinnette had four kills and three digs in the set while Higareda topped the defense with four digs.

Georgetown 3, George Mason 1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 25-15)
Williams tied for match-high honors with 11 kills and Sinnette was also in double figures with 10 to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Hoyas. Speech also had eight kills and five blocks while Smith had six kills and four blocks. McKnight tallied 36 assists to go along with eight digs, four kills and three blocks. She tied with Higareda for match-high honors in digs.

GU hit at a .255 clip for the match, slamming down 47 kills while also adding six service aces, 38 digs and 10 team blocks.

Set 1
The two teams traded points until George Mason (0-3) used a 4-1 run to open a 14-10 lead. The Hoyas dug in and eventually tied the score at 19 on the back of a 3-0 spurt. Williams and Madison Smith (Elk Grove, Calif./Elk Grove) combined for back-to-back blocks to fuel the run. The Patriots scored the next two points to go up, 21-19, but GU answered with four-consecutive points to take a 23-21 lead. Sinnette and King started the run with kills before Smith slammed down consecutive points. Both sides went back-and-forth before a George Mason error gave GU the 25-23 set victory. King led the Hoya offense in the first set with four kills while Williams, Sinnette and Smith each had three. Smith also contributed with three blocks, while Williams added two.

Set 2
The score was tight the entire set as neither team could take more than a two-point lead until the Patriots used a 3-0 run to take a late 22-19 advantage. Kills from Sinnette and Williams cut the deficit to 22-21, but George Mason eventually closed out the set, 25-23. Williams, Sinnette and Speech all had three kills in the set to lead the offense, while McKnight contributed 11 assists and Higareda topped the defense with six digs.

Set 3
The Hoyas opened the set with runs of four- and seven-consecutive points to take a commanding 11-1 lead. Williams and McKnight each had a kill and teamed up for a block in the run while Sinnette and Speech also combined for a block. GU maintained the lengthy advantage for the rest of the set and, despite a late 7-0 run by the Patriots, the Hoyas finished off the set, 25-16, on the first career kill for Charlotte Kelly (New York, N.Y./Chapin School). Williams led Georgetown in the third set with three kills and a block. Sinnette and Speech each had two kills while Speech also added a pair of blocks. Both Sara Feld (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) and Alexandra Rivera (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) chipped in service aces.

Set 4
The Blue & Gray maintained the momentum into the fourth set, opening up on a 5-1 run on kills from Speech and Sinnette and back-to-back aces by McKnight. A kill from McKnight and an ace by Brauneis helped extend the lead to 10-4. Following both sides trading points, a 3-0 run by the Hoyas -- on a kill from Speech, dual block by Speech and McKnight and another ace from Brauneis -- gave them their largest lead, 22-12. The first career kill from Emily Herrington (Gainesville, Fla./St. Francis Catholic) eventually gave GU the 25-15 set win and closed out the match, 3-1. Speech led the Hoyas in the fourth set with three kills and two blocks. GU totaled four aces in the set, two apiece from McKnight and Brauneis, and Smith and Herrington also combined for a big dual block.

Georgetown will travel to Florida next weekend for the Stetson/USF Invitational on the campus of the University of South Florida (USF). The Hoyas will play Florida Atlantic University and Western Carolina University on Friday, September 2 before closing out the weekend against Stetson University on Saturday, September 3.