WASHINGTON – Coming off a five-set victory in its BIG EAST opener on Wednesday, the Georgetown University volleyball team hits the road to take on Villanova on Saturday afternoon in league action. The Hoyas and the Wildcats are both undefeated in conference play heading into the match.
First serve is set for 2 p.m. at Jake Nevin Field House. Live stats and video are available at www.GUHoyas.com.
Georgetown defeated St. John's, 3-2 (25-21, 17-25, 25-17, 20-25, 16-14), on Wednesday to improve to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST. The win was the first to open league play for the Hoyas since 2008 and was the first victory over St. John's since 2013.
Iva Vujosevic (Bar, Montenegro / Niko Rolovic / UMES) and
Symone Speech (Oak Park, Ill. / Oak Park-River Forest) led the Hoyas with a pair of double-doubles. Vujosevic posted a match-high 16 kills to go with 13 digs while Speech tallied 14 kills with 10 blocks. The pair combined for seven service aces, with Speech notching four and Vujosevic adding three.
Margo Pivonka (Broadview Heights, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) had a solid all-around match for the Blue & Gray, leading all players with 45 assists to go with eight blocks, four kills and four digs.
Three different Hoyas average at least three kills per set, led by Vujosevic with 3.65 kps. Speech, the reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, and
Alyssa Sinnette (Pearland, Texas / Dawson) add 3.19 and 3.09 kps, respectively.
Olivia King (Ardmore, Pa. / Lower Merion) chips in 2.00 kps as well.
Pivonka paces the offense with 9.10 assists per set.
Defensively,
Kenzie Higareda (Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park) anchors the back row with 4.48 digs per set.
Jessica Cusi (Pacifica, Calif. / Lick-Wilmerding) and Vujosevic add 2.58 and 2.56 dps, respectively, while Sinnette is just shy of two digs a frame with 1.93 dps.
At the net, Speech has been credited with 45 blocks on the season for a 1.05 average and
Brennan Wilhite (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic) adds 0.52 bps.
Villanova (8-5, 1-0 BIG EAST) is coming off a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-23) victory over Seton Hall in its BIG EAST opener on Wednesday. Clare Delaplane led the Wildcats with 22 kills while Mallory Potts added 12 and Amanda Pedersen-Henry had 10. Regan Lough notched a match-high 27 digs and Delaplane added 12 for a double-double.
Potts leads VU with 2.74 kills per set, followed by Delaplane and Sanaa Barnes with 2.48 and 2.32 dps, respectively. Decker paces the offense with 9.67 assists per set. Defensively, Lough averages 5.52 digs per set and both Allie Olsonoski (0.94 bps) and Pedersen-Henry (0.92 bps) average just shy of a block a set.
Georgetown and Villanova have faced each other 56 times in program history with the Hoyas owning a 30-26 advantage in the series. The Wildcats have won the last three showdowns, including both meetings last season, while the Blue & Gray's last victory came in a 3-0 sweep in 2016.
Following Saturday's match, Georgetown returns to the friendly confines of McDonough Arena on Wednesday as it hosts BIG EAST foe Seton Hall at 5 p.m.
