The Georgetown University women’s volleyball team delivered an impressive performance Saturday, Sept. 7, defeating the Hampton Pirates in a thrilling 3-set victory (27-25, 25-7, 25-19) in McDonough Arena.
To cap off their impressive showing, the Hoyas prevailed in every offensive statistical category. They outperformed, with 46 kills dwarfing Hampton’s 25, a hit percentage of .313 compared to Hampton’s .078 and 9 aces to Hampton’s 3. Their cohesive play was especially evident in their impressive tally of 46 assists.
The first set established a competitive tone for the afternoon. Though the Pirates got the first serve, the Hoyas responded quickly. Senior outside hitter Giselle Williams scored a kill, set up by sophomore setter Emily Wen. Wen’s performance was particularly noteworthy, as she would go on to rack up an impressive 37 assists throughout the match. The Hoyas stayed aggressive the entire set, which especially came in handy as the Pirates kept the game close with back and forth scoring.
To secure the set win, Williams delivered 2 final kills, once again assisted by Wen for the first and then assisted by senior libero Karis Park for the second.
The second set was an entirely different story from the first. Georgetown burst out of the gate, unleashing a 19-3 run, fueled largely by an impressive 6 aces. Park, in particular, appeared relentless in her pursuit of putting the set away. She dialed up 3 consecutive aces, to which the Pirates had no answer.
The Pirates tried to right the ship by taking two early timeouts, but nevertheless, only scored 7 points over the course of the entire set. The Hoyas took full advantage of the Pirates’ lack of offense, walking away from the set with an impressive 25-7 win.
However, the Pirates refused to go down without a fight. They put forth a strong effort in the third set, not only keeping pace with Georgetown but even leading at multiple points. However, the combination of Williams and freshman outside hitter Dionna Mitchell secured Georgetown’s win, with 4 kills and an ace by Williams and 6 kills by Mitchell.
The first-year paced the Hoyas with 14 total kills and garnered the Big East freshman of the week award for her efforts in both this game and 2 others over the past weekend. Additionally, Mitchell had tallied a season-high 19 kills in the match against North Texas and 15 kills against Alabama A&M.
Showing enormous promise, the underclassmen have excited their teammates about the heights that the team may be able to reach this season.
“The freshmen have come into this team seamlessly, not only making us stronger on the court, but also more bonded off the court,” senior right-side hitter Minnie Purcell told The Hoya. “It is now our second season under AJ, Noel and Jane, and I only see us going up from here.”
Overall, the Hoyas finished with 46 kills and 60 points — a strong showing that will undoubtedly build a lot of momentum for the team heading into Big East play later this season.
The team feels they have a strong foundation and incredible synergy that will continue to serve them well moving forward.
“Our team is based on the 3 E’s — energy, effort and execution. The key moments in the game that led to victory was the unwavering energy that was coming from the bench,” Purcell said. “We have some tough competition coming up this weekend, but we also recognize that if we play our own game, good things will happen.”
From Friday, Sept. 13 to Saturday, Sept. 14, the Hoyas will host the D.C. Showdown, playing IU Indy, Rider and George Washington at McDonough Arena. They will play at one more tournament — the Greensboro Invitational — before entering league play Friday, Sept. 27 against Villanova.
