As easy as it is to get in a rut, it can be even more difficult to get out of it.

Even though they hoped to turn around their season on the road, the Hoyas’ struggles have continued. Georgetown (11-13, 1-7 Big East) suffered losses to Marquette on Friday and Syracuse on Sunday.

In spite of these losses, the play of freshman outside hitter Paris Coleman and sophomore setter Ashley Malone has remained a bright spot. Coleman has led the Hoya attack, totaling 15 kills and 23 kills so far on the road trip. Malone has compiled a total of 82 assists in these two matches, 32 against Marquette and 50 against Syracuse.

Friday, Georgetown visited Marquette. Even though the Hoyas lost in straight sets to the Musketeers, the story of the match was Georgetown’s blown leads. Marquette only dominated the first set.

The Musketeers took an early 3-0 lead that they never surrendered. An impressive .433 hitting performance allowed Marquette to take the set 25-20, as junior outside hitter Kortney Robinson’s .800 efficiency was not able to stop the Musketeers from taking the set.

The Blue and Gray responded in the second set by stepping up their defense, holding Marquette to .100. The highly contested set featured nine ties and four lead changes. The Hoyas even took the lead late in the set 22-20, but Marquette scored five straight points to win the set 25-20.

In the third set, the Hoyas put forth a strong effort to remain in the match, but could not retain their lead. The Blue and Gray started the set on a 6-1 run and stretched their lead to seven points at 20-13.

Junior middle blocker Vanessa Dorismond led the run with three kills and three blocks. The Hoyas, however, once again were unable to maintain their lead, and Marquette went on an 8-1 surge and eventually won the set and match 27-25.

On Sunday afternoon Georgetown challenged Syracuse through the first three sets,, but the Hoyas were easily defeated in the fourth set, losing to the Orange 3-1.

The match began with a hotly contested first set that included seven lead changes. Although they hit a match-high .297 in the first set, the Hoyas lost the set 27-25. Malone had 17 of her 50 assists in the first frame.

idway through the second set, the Hoyas gained their first lead of the set at 16-15. The Hoya attack was led by Dorismond and freshman middle blocker Lindsay Wise who had eight combined kills. Syracuse responded, however, and regained the lead at 21-20 and ultimately took the set 25-21.

Behind the play of Coleman, Georgetown got back in the match in the third set 25-20. The freshman outside hitter hit a perfect 1.000 and had seven kills and two service aces in the set. Coleman’s two aces were consecutive and helped to close out the set.

The Hoyas could not sustain the momentum in the fourth set as Georgetown’s 11 attack errors and three service errors allowed Syracuse to win the set 25-16 and the match 3-1.

Georgetown has now lost five straight matches, its longest losing streak of the season. The losses have also pushed them to two games below the .500 mark.

Georgetown will continue its road trip at the University of South Florida this Saturday.”