The Georgetown women’s volleyball team has hit a skid in the past week.
After dropping two out of three matches at the Maryland Invitational over the weekend, the Hoyas returned to Maryland on Tuesday to take on the Towson Tigers and were defeated in three straight games.
Even with the losses, Georgetown can find some solace in the fact that the match was not a blowout. After losing the first game 30-16, the Hoyas fought back in two games that could have gone either way.
The second game was characterized by intense rallies, but those did not go Georgetown’s way. The Tigers were able to put together a few scoring bursts that allowed them to put the Hoyas away and win 30-22.
The third game was the closest of the match as Towson was unable to pull away, although it never trailed. The score was tied five times but Georgetown was never able to make the final push. Eventually the Hoyas lost the match on a hitting error with the score 30-25.
Errors characterized this showing for Georgetown, which can be attributed to the relative inexperience of the team.
In contrast to last weekend’s losses, Georgetown only got stronger as the match with Towson continued. At the Maryland Invitational the Hoyas struggled in the third game of matches, but against Towson the third match was their strongest. This could signal the “keep fighting” attitude that Head Coach Li Liu said she has seen glimpses of this early season.
It will take more than that attitude, however, to help the Hoyas as they take on stiffer competition. The Georgetown offense on Tuesday was anemic, with the Hoyas posting just a .046 hitting percentage compared to .304 for the Tigers. No player managed to put up double digits for kills. Junior outside hitter Rachel Nelson led the team with nine.
Senior middle blocker Sara Albert played in her first match in over a week after having sustained a shoulder injury during the Hoya Classic on Sept. 10. She combined with sophomore middle blocker Jessica George for 13 blocks.
Georgetown will be in Philadelphia this weekend to take on St. Francis (Pa.), the University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern in the UPenn Tournament. The Hoyas will face the Red Flash first, opening the tournament at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
In other volleyball news, the team has officially named Mitch Sadowsky as its new assistant coach. Sadowsky graduated from Ball State University in 1998 with a degree in Sports Administration and Spanish and received his Masters in Sports Management in 2000. Sadowsky’s volleyball experience goes back to his playing days at Ball State when he was a member of two Final Four teams in 1995 and 1997. He was also a member of the silver medallist Team USA in the 2001 Maccabi Games.
Senior setter Margaret Vernon said that Sadowsky is fitting in well with the team, and he will be a valuable asset.
