The Georgetown volleyball team (14-11, 6-6 Big East) hit the road to take on South Florida (10-15, 6-6 Big East) Sunday but fell short to the Bulls in straight sets, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21.

Head Coach Arlisa Williams felt her team could have played better but also cited the hostile environment as difficult for the Hoyas to overcome.

“It was a disappointing loss, [but] USF is a good team and better than their record indicates. They outplayed us on Sunday,” Williams said. “The environment was a great volleyball one, but I think it got to us a little. We couldn’t hear each other talking, and it’s tough to play volleyball when you can’t communicate.”

The first set started out neck-and-neck for both teams, and the Hoyas even had a lead at 11-9 after three straight points off the serve of freshman outside hitter Alex Johnson. However, it was all Bulls from then on, as the hosts took 14 of the next 22 points en route to winning the set.

South Florida carried that momentum over into the second set, jumping out to an early 8-4 lead. The lead held steady until 18-13, but the Blue and Gray then took six of the next eight points to draw to within 20-19. The teams to draw to within 20-19. The teams battled to put the score at 23-22 in favor of the Bulls, but unfortunately for the Hoyas, two straight kills from USF freshman outside hitter Valerie ElHoussine closed out the set.

Georgetown came out of intermission with authority and dominated the early part of the set, as six straight points off the serve of freshman libero Mackenzie Simpson put the Hoyas’ lead at 8-2. But the Bulls mounted a comeback, eventually tying the score at 17 apiece and pulling ahead on the next point. South Florida never looked back from there and went on to close out the set and the match.

Although the Hoyas outblocked and outdug the Bulls, they posted a subpar .133 hitting percentage as compared to South Florida’s .188. The Hoyas also totaled 20 errors – nine of which came in the third set – that snapped a four game winning streak.

“I did see some positive things, but we were inconsistent. If we had played as consistently as we did during October, I think the outcome would have been different,” Williams said.

Individually, freshman middle blocker Dani White was particularly strong for the Hoyas, recording an impressive match-high .389 hitting percentage in addition to eight kills on the day.

Johnson led the way in kills for the Blue and Gray with nine, and senior setter Ashley Malone had a team-high 23 assists and a match-high nine digs. She also added three kills.

“Dani’s hitting percentage was great. [Junior defensive specialist] Whitney Jencks was rock solid passing and defending, and [junior middle blocker] Lindsay [Wise] was good early,” Williams noted.

Georgetown still sits in seventh place overall in the Big East standings with the loss but is currently vying with five other teams for the final three spots in the Big East Tournament.

The Hoyas will host the top two teams in the league, Louisville (19-7, 11-1 Big East) and Cincinnati (20-8, 10-2 Big East), at McDonough Arena this weekend to finish their regular season. The match against the Bearcats is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Friday, while the Cardinals will square off against Georgetown at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

“We’ll bounce back, we always do. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we beat someone,” Williams said. “We didn’t come this far to clean out our lockers.”