BALTIMORE – Georgetown jumped out to an 8-2 fifth-set lead on Friday evening, and while Loyola Univeristy Maryland cut the game to two on three occasions, the Hoyas hung on for a 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12 non-conference victory to open the Battle of the Beltways.
A Loyola attack error put the Greyhounds in an 8-2 hole in the fifth, but
Ava Nepkin sided out with one of 11 kills to bring the serve back to Loyola.
Morgan Crawford had a kill, and the Greyhounds scored again on a bad set by the Hoyas, pulling within three, 8-5.
Vaughan Anoa'I made it 9-5 Georgetown with a kill, and two more Loyola hitting errors pushed the Hoyas' advantage to 11-5.
Crawford took over for the next several points, logging four-straight kills off assists by
Kacy Sekunda, pulling Loyola within two, 11-9.
The Greyhounds would be that close after a Sekunda kill at 12-10 and another Crawford kill at 13-11, but Georgetown scored two of the final three points for the victory.
Crawford set a career-high with 17 kills, hitting .355.
Sekunda tied her career-high by posting 19 kills for the second time in three matches. She compiled her 15
th triple-double of her career and second in four matches this year; she finished with 25 assists and 18 digs.
Gabi Verdicchio had a team-best 27 assists to go with 13 digs, while
Addie Huber picked up a team-best 22 digs.
Nepkin had her second career double-double with 11 kills and a career-best 18 digs.
Loyola will go on the road for two matches this weekend to close non-conference play, It will play at George Washington on Saturday at 4 p.m. before going to George Mason Sunday at 2 p.m.
