George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Georgetown
Volleyball Drops DC Challenge Finale to Georgetown, 3-0
8/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 30, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC -- The GW Volleyball team fell short of winning its second DC Challenge in the three-year history of the event with a 3-0 loss to Georgetown Saturday at Charles E. Smith Center. The Hoyas won by the scores, 25-7, 25-15, 29-27. Earlier Saturday, American captured the title by sweeping Georgetown, 3-0 and downing George Mason, 3-1.
The Colonials couldn't find their rhythm and fell behind in the first set 21-4 as every Georgetown attack seemed to find a hole in the Colonials defense. The Colonials' offense sputtered as well managing just four kills in the first set. The second set was slightly more competitive with the teams separated by one point at 11-10 before Georgetown began to pull away and coasted to the 25-15 victory. The Hoyas' run came on the strength of four kills by Jessica Hardy and three by Sara Manley to open up a comfortable margin.
Set three was by far the most competitive of match with George Washington maintaining the early lead until GU rallied to tie the set at 19-19. The teams battled through six ties and seven lead changes over the final stages of the set until a pair of GW attack errors gave the Hoyas a 29-27 victory.
GW's Abby Syverson and Hannah Stuart paced the Colonials with six kills each while Maggie Wright added a match-high 15 digs. Freshman Jenny O'Brien hit .286 behind five kills in 14 attempts with just one attack error. GW freshman setter Alyssa Valentine was named to the All-Tournament team after she recorded 22 of GW's 24 assists.
GU had a trio of players with double-figure kills led by Manley's 14, Vanessa Dorismond's 12 and 10 from Katherine Niesen. Caitlin Boland had 43 assists and Hardy added 13 digs. Both Manley and Boland were named to the all-tournament team along with GMU's Rebecca Walter and American's Christina Nash, Cassandra Ricketts and MVP Rubena Sukaj.
Despite the loss, the Colonials still lead the all-time series with Georgetown, 32-28, in a heated rivalry that dates back to the 1975 season.
2008 DC Challenge Final Results:
GW def. American, 3-2
Georgetown defeated GMU, 3-0
GW def. GMU, 3-1
American def. Georgetown, 3-0
American def. GMU, 3-1
Georgetown def. GW, 3-0
GW (2-1) next plays Friday, Sept. 5 against Villanova in the Nittany Lion Invitational at University Park, PA. The Colonials face the Wildcats at 4 p.m. Friday before facing former A-10 foe and top-ranked Penn State Saturday at noon.
