The Georgetown University women’s volleyball team (0-3) continued its winless start to the 2025 season over the weekend, losing to the George Mason University (GMU) Patriots (2-1) over four sets in the final game of the D.C. Challenge, a tournament between area schools, Aug. 31.
The Hoyas looked to turn their luck around heading into the final game of the weekend tournament, after losing to both the University of Virginia (3-0) and American University (4-0) in straight sets to open the season.
Georgetown put up a promising performance early on, springing out to an 11-4 lead in the first set and capitalizing on Patriot attack errors. The two teams then traded kills, with Georgetown maintaining the lead. But with the Hoyas leading 20-12, GMU came roaring back, rattling off an 8-0 run off of Kiera Hamilton’s serve and kills from Nia Thompson and Haley Graetz to tie the score up at 20.
Georgetown managed to fend off the Patriots’ charge and closed the first set off with a kill from first-year Samantha Soderlund and a block from sophomore Dionna Mitchell, pulling away to win the first set 25-22.
The second set started off as a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to get into much of a groove. GMU strung together two 3-point runs off of strong kills from across the team, building a steady 3-point advantage that the Hoyas were never able to claw their way out of. Despite a late surge to cut the deficit to 1 at 21-22, the Patriots pulled away for a 25-21 win in the second set.
The third set continued the same back-and-forth energy seen in the second, with both teams trading points as Georgetown fought out to a 7-4 lead. But GMU’s offense exploded from there, turning the tide to 12-7 in the Patriots’ favor off a team effort on defense and 3 aces.
Georgetown refused to count themselves out, and Mitchell stepped up to the plate, bringing the Hoyas back into the game with 4 kills. Despite Mitchell’s efforts, the Hoyas were still down 15-21, and it looked like things may have been over for Georgetown.
It wasn’t over, at least not yet, as the Hoyas roared back off of first-year Sydney Mercado’s serve and some offensive errors on the Patriots’ part to cut the deficit to 21-20. Unfortunately, a complete comeback wasn’t in the cards, and GMU regained their composure and the serve to close out a 25-21 win.
Heading into the fourth set, Georgetown looked to turn their luck around and extend the game. The two teams played each other fairly close, and a team effort from the Hoyas kept them within 2 or 3 points of the Patriots. Around halfway through the set, the Patriots began to pull away once again, building up a 15-7 lead with Thompson serving. The Hoyas suffered through a consistent 10-point deficit, and it looked all but over with the Patriots sitting at a 22-11 advantage.
Georgetown embarked on an 11-1 run, with the team — led by Mitchell — raining down kills to get the Hoyas back in the game. With the score 23-22 to the Patriots, the Hoyas stayed scrappy and fought for every point. GMU was the first to reach the 25-point mark, but the “win by 2” rule meant the game continued on, giving the Hoyas a chance for their first lead of the set and a win. They tied the score up at 25 and 26-all, but 2 successive kills by GMU put victory out of reach for the Hoyas, delivering a 28-26 set win for the Patriots and the game.
Despite the close score, GMU led Georgetown in every category in the box score, including a 12-8 advantage in aces, 56-46 in assists and 61-49 in kills. For Georgetown, 2024 Big East all-freshman team honoree Mitchell led the way, scoring a team-high 20 kills along with 9 digs and 2 aces. Sophomore Juleigh Urbina also added a game-high 40 assists and 2 aces.
The Hoyas look to garner their first win of the season when they return to action against North Carolina Central University (2-2) Friday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m
. in McDonough Arena for their first game of the weekend-long Georgetown-George Washington University Tournament.
