Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

VOLLEYBALL | Georgetown Falls to Marquette and DePaul

Freshman outside hitter Elissa Barbosa had six digs and an ace against the Blue Demons.
Aaron Weinmann/The Hoya

The Georgetown volleyball team broke its six-game winning streak last weekend after losing to Big East rivals Marquette and DePaul.

The Hoyas fell short in both contests, losing to the Golden Eagles in three sets on Friday and the Blue Demons in four sets the next day.

Unranked Georgetown (10-7, 3-2 Big East) came in as the underdog against Marquette (13-4, 4-1 Big East), as the Golden Eagles boast a No. 20 national ranking and were selected as the preseason favorites to win the Big East.

Marquette swept the Hoyas in three straight frames by scores of 18-25, 13-25 and 20-25. Marquette junior outside hitter Allie Barber and senior outside hitter Anna Haak led the team with 13 and seven kills, respectively. The Golden Eagles also collected a total of 10 team blocks while scattering seven aces throughout the game.

Georgetown Head Coach Toby Rens pointed to Marquette’s composure as key to its success.

“They’re hard to get out of system. They do a great job of executing at a pretty high level, and they are a veteran team. It brings a lot to the table,” Rens said in an interview with The Hoya.

Georgetown did not allow Marquette to score more than five consecutive points in any set. Senior defensive specialist Kenzie Higareda led the Hoyas, tallying a game-high 18 digs.

Coach Rens praised Higareda’s defensive efforts and crucial saves.

“She did a really good job of digging the ball,” Rens said. “With or without a block in front of her, she came up with some really great saves and continued rallies for us and got us into the position to win some of those longer rallies.”

The next day, Saturday, Sept. 29, Georgetown lost to DePaul (4-12, 2-3 Big East) in four sets.

Georgetown won the first set by a score of 25-19. They committed four errors while registering 16 kills and hitting 73 percent.

The Blue Demons turned the game around, edging out the Hoyas in the second set 25-22. DePaul carried its momentum and won the next two sets in convincing fashion: 25-15, 20-25.

Coach Rens explained that the second set was a turning point in the match.

“Second set, they [Seton Hall] got stuck in a rotation, they made a scoring run, and I think that kind of became a tipping point for them, where they really created some momentum out of that,” Rens said. “We never really truly recovered after that.”

Senior middle blocker Symone Speech led Georgetown offensively with 15 kills, while Higareda added 28 digs on the defensive end. The game remained close, with 26 tie scores and 14 lead changes.

The Hoyas look to bounce back this Friday and Saturday as they take the road again to face Big East opponents Butler (5-12, 2-3 Big East) and Xavier (4-12, 2-3 Big East).

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