George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Xavier
Errors Doom Colonials in 3-1 Loss to Xavier
10/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 5, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC -- In a match that was eerily similar to GW's loss to Dayton 48 hours earlier, the Colonials jumped out to a quick start winning set one then dropped the next three sets to visiting Xavier in an A-10 Conference match Sunday afternoon at GW's Smith Center. The Musketeers prevailed by the scores, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-15, on Volleyball Parents Weekend.
For the second straight outing, the Colonials came out strong and pulled away from a 13-13 tie on a kill by Leah Hill and a service ace from Abby Syverson forcing Xavier to call a timeout. The Musketeers closed to within one at 17-16 on a Colonials' attack error but GW kept one step ahead of XU the rest of the way and hung on for the 25-23 victory.
The second set was controlled by Xavier throughout as the Musketeers built a 17-8 lead behind three kills each from Hillary Otte and Kelly Ruth. The Colonials rallied to get within two at 22-24 on a kill by Katie Zulandt and an Lauren Kaminsky attack error but Xavier's Otte put away the set-winner to even the set score at one apiece, 25-22.
Following the 10-minute intermission, the third set was competitive up to another tie at 13-13 before the Musketeers' Kaminsky slammed a kill to ignite an 8-3 run for a 21-16 Xavier advantage. Four Xavier errors allowed GW to creep back to within 24-21 but a Colonials' attacking miscue ended the set at 25-21 in favor of the Musketeers.
As was the case in the Dayton match, set four was controlled by the visitors from Ohio as the Colonials wilted down the stretch and managed to hit just .032 with eight errors to negate their nine kills. Xavier, which hit .382 in the final set, coasted to the 25-15 triumph.
Xavier combined to hit an impressive .320 (61-14-147) for the match while the Colonials hit just .118 (48-31-144). Xavier also blocked a total of 14 GW attacks led by eight block assists by Michelle Matia.
The Colonials were led by Hill's 19 points on a team-high 17 kills and 14 digs for her third double-double of the season. Senior Liz Moult added 12 points on 12 kills and Maggie Wright matched Hill with 14 digs.
Xavier (9-7, 2-0 A-10) was led by Ruth's 20 points on 18 kills and four blocks while Otte added 14 kills and six block assists.
The loss was GW's seventh straight to Xavier spanning five years. The Colonials' last defeated the Musketeers in a 2003 match at GW.
GW (6-8, 1-3 A-10) next plays at North Carolina Central Thursday night before facing Charlotte (8-10, 0-4) in an A-10 match Friday at 7 p.m. at Halton Arena. The GW-Charlotte match will be available on www.GWsports.com GameTracker.
