Following a strong performance at the Delaware State Tournament, the Georgetown volleyball team sought to parlay that success as it began Big East play last weekend. The team headed west, facing DePaul and Marquette on the road on consecutive nights.

The Hoyas (10-4, 1-1 Big East) opened their Midwest road trip Friday night with a 3-0 sweep of the DePaul Blue Demons (8-5, 1-1 Big East) in Chicago. 

Georgetown got out to an early lead in the first set, outpacing DePaul 11-5 after 16 serves. The Blue Demons, however, rallied back to the tune of seven unanswered points. The two sides swapped the lead several times until Georgetown took control, scoring four in a row to make it 21-16. DePaul would collect a few more points, but Georgetown responded in kind, winning the first set with a final score of 25-20.

The Hoyas attempted to carry that momentum into the second set, but DePaul was not quite finished. The Hoyas scored the first point of the second set, but the Blue Demons came alive and led 10-7 after 17 serves. Undeterred, the Hoyas proceeded to score seven points in a row, regaining the lead and holding it for the rest of the set. Georgetown would ultimately take the second set by a score of 25-17.  

Entering the third set, the Hoyas sought a clean sweep of the Blue Demons. Despite conceding the first point of the third set to DePaul, Georgetown dominated the early stages, building a 14-6 lead. The Hoyas fended off a late surge from the Blue Demons to take the final set by a score of 25-17, securing the sweep.  

The Hoyas’ strong performance against the Blue Demons revealed itself in the numbers — Georgetown led DePaul in every statistical category. First-year outside hitter Grace Albaugh led the Hoya offensive attack with 11 kills, an ace and an assist. Georgetown’s defensive efforts, meanwhile, were spearheaded by its middle blockers graduate Makayla Serrett and first-year Kamryn Lee-Caracci, who each contributed five blocks.  

The Hoyas sought to build on Friday’s success as they took on the Marquette Golden Eagles (6-7, 2-0 Big East) the next night in Milwaukee. Georgetown earned the first point of the night on a bad set by Marquette, but the Golden Eagles quickly recovered. The two swapped the lead several times before Marquette pulled ahead, earning seven consecutive points through a combination of kills, aces and errors on Georgetown’s part. Georgetown eventually found a way to disrupt Marquette’s rhythm, but by that point, victory in the first set was out of reach. Marquette took the first set by a score of 25-15.

The Golden Eagles would carry this momentum into the second set, establishing an early 9-2 lead. The Hoyas struggled to catch up and conceded several clusters of unanswered points. Ultimately, Georgetown fell 25-13 in the second set.  

Looking to avoid being swept, the Hoyas took the first two points of the third set. Georgetown and Marquette traded kills and were tied 9-9 through 18 serves. Though it initially appeared promising for the Hoyas, the Golden Eagles proceeded to catch fire offensively. Marquette collected points in eight of the next nine sets, interrupted only by a service error on their part. 

The Hoyas eventually broke the streak and attempted a comeback. Marquette’s lead, however, proved insurmountable. The Golden Eagles took the third and final set by a score of 25-19, completing the sweep and securing victory.

Though Georgetown ultimately fell to Marquette, a few Hoyas stood out statistically. Graduate right side Peyton Wilhite had 10 kills, 10 digs, an assist and a block in the match. Meanwhile, first-year setter Emily Wen tallied 17 assists and eight digs, and junior libero Karis Park collected 11 digs.

Big East volleyball is just heating up. Georgetown will look to improve on last year’s conference record as they open a homestand. The Hoyas take on the Butler Bulldogs (6-7, 0-2 Big East) at McDonough Arena on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.