WASHINGTON – Georgetown volleyball is gearing up for the 2024 Maryland Invitational, where the Hoyas will travel to College Park, Maryland to take on Alabama A&M and North Texas at the XFINITY Center Pavilion on Friday, September 6, with matches scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. They will conclude the weekend by hosting Hampton on Saturday, September 7 at 4:00 p.m.

Follow Along

• Live stats for matches against Alabama A&M and North Texas can be found here.
• You can find live stats and video for the home match against Hampton at GUHoyas.com.
• Stay connected with the team on social media: follow @HoyaVolleyball on X and Instagram.

About the Hoyas

• Georgetown volleyball enters the second year under Head Coach AJ Bonetti. The Hoyas finished the D.C. Challenge with a 1-2 record, securing a win against UC Riverside but falling to American and Howard.
• Freshman Dionna Mitchell emerged as the Hoyas' offensive leader, tallying 29 kills with an average of 2.90 kills per set. Mitchell made an impressive collegiate debut with a season-high 14 kills against American.
• Senior Mary Grace Goyena returns for her final season after leading the team in kills last year with 361, the highest by a Hoya since 2019. Over the weekend, Goyena recorded 19 kills, averaging 1.90 kills per set.
• Giselle Williams had a strong start to the season, contributing 28 kills with an average of 2.80 kills per set. Williams leads the team in service aces with three from the opening weekend.
• Senior Karis Park returns as the Hoyas' libero for the 2024 season, after leading the team with 4.06 digs per set last year and earning a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week award during her junior year.
• Sophomore setter Emily Wen played in all 115 sets during her debut season, recording a total of 1,101 assists. Wen averaged 9.57 assists per set, ranking fourth in the BIG EAST this past season, the highest among BIG EAST freshmen, and 11th nationally among freshmen. The sophomore currently leads the Hoyas in assists with 52 credited to her and 5.20 assists/set.
• On defense, Vaughan Anoa'i leads the team with 13 blocks, closely followed by Kamryn Lee-Caracci with 12. Park also recorded 45 digs over the weekend, currently leading the team.
• Lee-Caracci led the team last season with 0.94 blocks per set, ranking second among BIG EAST freshmen. She also earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors in the second week of competition.
• Two returning Hoyas, Wen and Lee-Caracci, were recognized with BIG EAST All-Freshman honors last season.
• Georgetown welcomed five newcomers to the team this season: Taylor Mercado, Mitchell, Natalie Nguyen, Berkeley Ploder, and Juleigh Urbina.
• Georgetown was ranked No. 10 in the BIG EAST preseason coaches poll, receiving 27 votes.

Scouting Alabama A&M

• Friday's match is set to begin at 11:00 a.m.
• The Hoyas hold a 1-0 record against Alabama A&M in their all-time series. In their most recent meeting, the Hoyas claimed a four-set victory over the Bulldogs (3-1: 25-19, 25-21, 25-21, 10-25, 25-10) in 2018.
• The Bulldogs currently stand at 2-2 this season, with victories over Idaho and Oral Roberts. They have not played nor lost a match extending beyond three sets so far this year.
• Alabama A&M concluded the 2023 season with an overall record of 12-19, including an 11-5 mark in conference play.

Scouting North Texas

• Friday's match is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. 
• The Mean Green are currently 0-3 this season, having setbacks against Colorado, Rutgers, and Miami. 
• North Texas wrapped up the 2023 season with an overall record of 17-15, including an 11-8 performance in conference play.

Scouting Hampton

• Saturday's match is set to begin with the first serve at 4:00 p.m.
• Georgetown holds a 1-0 record against Hampton, winning their last matchup in 2014 with a 3-1 victory (25-23, 17-25, 25-18, 29-27).
• Hampton is currently 0-3 this season, with losses against Army, Buffalo, and Oakland.
• The Pirates ended their 2023 season with an 0-21 record.