WASHINGTON – Entering the 2018 season, the Georgetown University volleyball team had never defeated Xavier in program history. Following Friday's 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-20) victory over the Musketeers, the Hoyas knocked XU out of playoff contention and completed the season sweep with their second-straight win over their BIG EAST foe.

With the win, Georgetown improves to 16-13 on the season and 9-8 in BIG EAST play. The Hoyas are still in the hunt for the fourth and final berth to the BIG EAST Championship with Saturday's regular season finale, along with Xavier's next match against Villanova, deciding their fate.

Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas / Dawson) led the Hoyas with a match-high 13 kills while Iva Vujosevic (Bar, Montenegro / Niko Rolovic / UMES) posted her 10th double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs. Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill. / Oak Park-River Forest) and Olivia King (Ardmore, Pa. / Lower Merion) both had seven kills with King swinging at a .400 clip.

Margo Pivonka (Broadview Heights, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) paced the offense with 36 assists.

Defensively, Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park) matched Vujosevic with a contest-best 14 digs. King and Speech were both credited with three blocks, two of the solo variety from Speech, while Brennan Wilhite (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic) added a pair.

Georgetown dominated the opening frame from the first serve, jumping to an 8-1 lead to force a Xavier timeout. The Hoyas pushed their advantage to 18-7 behind the strong serving of Higareda as XU called another timeout. Cruising to the 25-13 set victory, the Hoya defense caused Xavier to hit -.222 in the frame.

A closer start to the second set saw a 4-4 tie before the Blue & Gray went on a 7-3 run to lead 11-7 and force a Musketeer timeout. Coming out of the huddle, GU kept its foot on the pedal and took an 18-11 advantage as Xavier burned its final timeout. Down the stretch, Georgetown wouldn't allow XU to score back-to-back points the rest of the stanza en route to the 25-15 win.

In the third, Xavier finally took its first lead of the match at 5-4 but its momentum was short-lived. An 11-6 run from the Hoyas gave the home team a 16-10 lead before three-straight points from GU put the Blue & Gray up 19-12, burning both of XU's timeouts in the process. Georgetown found itself with seven match points, up 24-17, and held off a late Musketeer rally for the 25-20 victory.

Laura Grossman led Xavier with eight kills and 13 digs.

Georgetown closes out the 2018 regular season on Saturday against Butler at 5 p.m. on the Hilltop. The match will serve as Senior Day for Higareda, King, Sinnette, Speech and Alexandra Rivera (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Fort Hamilton).