WASHINGTON – Georgetown volleyball made program history on Saturday night, defeating Creighton 3-2 (14-25, 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 19-17) at McDonough Arena for its first-ever victory over the Bluejays. With the historic win, the Hoyas improve to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in BIG EAST play while Creighton drops to 11-9 and 6-2 in the conference.
"I'm just so incredibly proud of this team. We battled the entire time, worked through adverse situations, and still found a way to come out on top. Such a Monumental win for our girls and Hoya volleyball. Hoya Saxa!" -Head Coach
AJ Bonetti
"This is a surreal moment! I am beyond proud of the team and the fight we put up tonight. We believed in ourselves the whole way and worked together as a team to earn this victory tonight!" -Graduate Student
Bella McGirr
The Hoyas raced to an early 6-4 advantage behind a multitude of Bluejay errors and kills from middle blockers
Kamryn Lee-Caracci and
Berkeley Ploder. Creighton responded with their own 8-2 run to lead 12-8. The Bluejays maintained control from that point on, taking the first set 25-14.
Despite trailing 9-7 early, Georgetown found its rhythm as kills from Ploder and
Alexis Anderson sparked a 7-2 run to take a 14-11 lead. Creighton surged back to even the set at 20 before
Dionna Mitchell put down a kill to give the Hoyas a slight advantage. Behind a defense that held Creighton to a .130 hitting percentage in the frame, Mitchell closed out the 25-22 set win for Georgetown with a massive right-handed swing.
Georgetown's defense continued to shine in the third frame, picking up three blocks while holding the Bluejays to a .095 hitting percentage to earn a 25-17 win in the second set. Back-to-back kills from
Katherine McGregor and a block from Lee-Caracci capped off an initial 5-0 run for the Hoyas, forcing an early Creighton timeout. The Bluejays trimmed the deficit to one, but a 4-1 surge gave Georgetown breathing room before its defense dominated down the stretch to take a 2-1 match lead.
Creighton looked to be in control of the fourth frame, jumping out to an 8-5 lead until the Hoyas fought back to even the score at 9-9. The Bluejays regained momentum and extended their lead to as many as five points in the frame. Georgetown attempted to rally with a kill from Anderson and an ace from
Juleigh Urbina but fell just short as Creighton claimed a 25-18 win.
The Hoyas fell behind 12-7 in the fifth set before mounting an enormous comeback sparked by a pair of Creighton errors. The Hoyas strung together a 6-1 run to even the score at 13. From that point on, the sides traded points until Urbina served up an ace in extra points to give Georgetown a 17-16 lead. Creighton evened the set at 17 as Ashlyn Paymal and Eloise Brandewie teamed up for a block, but back-to-back Bluejay errors sealed the 19-17 set victory and the match for the Hoyas.
Hoya Highlights
- Mitchell and McGregor paced Georgetown with 10 kills each, while Ploder added nine kills on a team-high .240 hitting percentage.
- Urbina directed the offense with a team-high 27 assists while adding a match-best four service aces. Natalie Nguyen chipped in 16 assists.
- Bella McGirr anchored the defense with a match-high 31 digs. Urbina added 12 digs to complete a double-double, while Nguyen posted 11 digs.
- Lee-Caracci recorded a team-high six blocks, while McGregor followed close behind with five.
- Georgetown logged six service aces and 11 team blocks in the five-set victory.
Of Note
- Saturday's victory marks the first win in program history for Georgetown against Creighton.
- McGirr etched her name in the record books as her 31 digs marked the fourth-highest single-match total in program history.
- The Hoyas improve to 2-0 in five-set matches this season.
Up Next
Georgetown volleyball will wrap up its homestand with matches against Seton Hall on Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m. and St. John's on Saturday, October 24 at 6 p.m. Live stats and broadcast links will be available on
GUHoyas.com.
