WASHINGTON – Georgetown University's volleyball team opens the 2018 campaign at the Hyatt Regency Invitational, hosted by Georgia Tech in Atlanta this weekend. The Hoyas take on Abilene Christian and Idaho State on Friday before going up against Winthrop and the host Yellow Jackets on Saturday.
 
Live stats for all games can be found on www.GUHoyas.com. Saturday's showdown against Georgia Tech will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
 
"We're more than ready to compete against other teams as opposed to each other in practice every day," Head Coach Toby Rens said. "The team has worked extremely hard to learn new offensive and defensive systems this season. I've been really impressed with the direction the team is going and the buy in has been great."
 
Georgetown takes the court under Rens in his first year on the Hilltop. The Hoyas return 11 letterwinners from 2017, including 78 percent of its offensive firepower from a year ago. Senior Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest), a First Team All-BIG EAST and AVCA All-East Region selection in 2017, paced the Blue & Gray with 3.72 kills per set while hitting at a solid .377 clip. Fellow senior Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas/Dawson) added 2.75 kps from the outside while senior Olivia King (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion), sophomore Riley Wertzberger (Dallas, Texas/Richardson), junior Madison Smith (Elk Grove, Calif./Elk Grove) and junior Margo Snipe (Washington, D.C./Ridgewood [N.J.]) all chipped in at least a kill a stanza.
 
Defensively, senior Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) anchored Georgetown's back row with 3.96 digs per set. Sinnette, King, Wertzberger and sophomore Margo Pivonka (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) all averaged more than a dig per set. At the net, Speech was credited with 96 total blocks for a 0.80 block per set average.
 
Georgetown opens the 2018 campaign against Abilene Christian on Friday, Aug. 24 at 9:30 a.m. The meeting is the first in program history between the two schools after the Wildcats transitioned to NCAA Division I in 2013.
 
Abilene Christian went 13-18 in 2017 and returns its five top offensive threats from a year ago. Jacey Smith leads the returners with 2.78 kills per set, followed by Lauren Walker and Katelyn Mueller with 2.22 and 2.44 kps, respectively. Lorin McNeil and Marybeth Sandercox both chipped in more than a kill a frame last season. Kendall Bosse returns as the primary setter with 8.98 assists per set in 2017 while libero Amanda Chapa is back following a 4.96 digs per set campaign.
 
The second match of the day on Friday for the Hoyas is against Idaho State at 4:30 p.m. Georgetown has never previously faced the Bengals on the court.
 
Three ISU players return from an 11-19 squad in 2017 that notched at least a kill a frame last year. Abby Garrity leads the way with 3.43 kps, followed by Brooke Pehrson with 1.54 kps and Taylor Meeks with 1.44 kps. Both setters from Idaho State's 6-2 system have moved on with sophomore Chelsea Johnson as the lone returning setter. Haylie Keck averaged 4.89 digs per set from the back row for ISU.
 
Saturday's action kicks off at 2 p.m. against Winthrop. The Eagles and Hoyas have squared off just once before in program history, a 3-2 victory for Winthrop in 2007.
 
Phoebe Wu leads all Winthrop returners with 3.53 kills per set while Jace Kleffner and Sydney Gunter added 2.76 and 2.67 kps, respectively. Sian Yamaguchi will once against pace the Eagles offense following a 10.0 assist per set season a year ago while libero Carlie Skelton anchored the defense with 4.17 digs per set.
 
Closing out the tournament against the host Yellow Jackets, the match will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Georgetown and Georgia Tech have met twice before, splitting the two contests. The Hoyas won the first meeting, 3-2, in 1991, while the Yellow Jackets prevailed, 3-0, in 2001.
 
Georgia Tech went 13-18 in 2017 and lost its top three offensive threats with no returners that averaged at least two kills a frame back on campus. The top setters for the Yellow Jackets have also departed with only libero Sam Knapp back as a statistical leader with 3.38 digs per set.
 
Following the weekend's action, Georgetown returns to the Hilltop for the home opener at the 2018 Georgetown Classic. The Hoyas will take on Norfolk State and Penn on Friday, Aug. 31 before hosting George Mason and UNC Wilmington on Saturday, Sept. 1.