Following their dominant 3-0 weekend at the D.C. Challenge to kick off the new season, the Georgetown women’s volleyball team participated in the VCU Invitational this past weekend, squaring off against the likes of Radford University, Iona University and Virginia Commonwealth University. The Hoyas strung together a 2-1 weekend, dropping only their match against Iona, to improve to 5-1 on the young season.
The Hoyas (5-1, 0-0 Big East) opened up play with a convincing 3-1 win against the Radford University Highlanders (1-5, 0-0 Big South). Radford took the first set, 25-21, but Georgetown roared back, winning three sets in a row with scores of 25-19, 25-14 and 25-22 to seal the match. First-year setter Emily Wen had a performance to remember in her young collegiate career, recording an impressive 43 assists, 12 more than the entire Radford team. Junior outside hitter Mary Grace Goyena followed up her 16-kill performance against American University with another 16 kills, which was the match high. The win helped lift Georgetown to their first 4-0 start since 2012.
Radford’s Summer Campbell led all players with 7 blocks. Radford would go on to defeat Iona 3-2 on Saturday but lose to VCU 1-3 on Sunday, ending their weekend with a 1-2 record in the invitational.
On Saturday, the Hoyas faced off against the Iona Gaels (2-6, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). After winning the first set with a score of 25-13, the Hoyas lost the next three sets by scores of 19-25, 19-25 and 22-25 to ultimately lose the match. Despite having the top two-point scorers of the match, Georgetown’s recurring service errors and several-point streaks for Iona granted them the match win, breaking their four-game losing streak. Graduate student and right-side player Peyton Wilhite, fresh off a selection to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll, had 15.5 points, the match-high, and Mary Grace Goyena provided 12.5 points of her own. Emily Wen impressed once again with 36 assists, by far the match-high.
Iona was led by middle blocker Jen Soto and right-side hitter Ezzie Thompson, who scored 11.5 and 10.5 points, respectively. Libero Hope Matschner led all players with 22 digs. Prior to their match against Georgetown, Iona had lost to VCU 0-3 and Radford 2-3.
On Sunday, VCU (3-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10) played host to Georgetown. Ending their week on a high note, the Hoyas dominated in a 3-0 sweep, winning sets with scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 25-18. A balanced effort downed the Rams, spearheaded by first-year middle blocker Kamryn Lee-Caracci, who led all players with 14 points on 10 kills. Her stellar performance throughout the weekend earned her the Big East Freshman of the Week honors. Fellow first-year and outside hitter Grace Albaugh also contributed with a match-high 11 kills. Emily Wen continued to excel, recording another 35 assists, and junior libero Karis Park finished with a match-high 15 digs.
Middle blocker Jasmine Knight led the Rams with six kills and four blocks. This match marked VCU’s only loss of the weekend, as they had defeated Iona on Friday in a 3-0 sweep and Radford on Saturday in a 3-1 victory.
Georgetown will look to continue their blistering hot start to the new season next weekend when they host a doubleheader on Sept. 8 against Old Dominion University (4-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) at 11 a.m. and the University of North Alabama (3-3, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) at 7 p.m. The Hoyas also have another local clash on Sept. 9 when they play away at George Washington University (0-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at 3 p.m.
