WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 22, 2000) -- The Georgetown University women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (15-6, 15-4, 15-3) victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls on the first day of competition in the 2000 Georgetown Classic Volleyball Tournament held Friday, September 22, at McDonough Gym. With the win, the Hoyas' record improves to 7-5, while the Owls fall to 3-10 overall.

Georgetown hit a solid .267 for the match, while holding Florida Atlantic to .000. In game three, GU posted an impressive hitting percentage of .435 (14 kills with only four errors in 23 attempts).

Georgetown received a balanced team effort en route to the win. Junior outside hitter Yulia Vtyurina (Moscow, Russia/Moscow #1415) led the Hoya attack with a match-high 12 kills and 11 digs. She also hit .429 for the match (12 kills, three errors, 21 attempts). Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Warner (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) posted nine kills, eight digs and a hitting percentage of .313, while senior outside hitter Kiran Gill (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) tallied eight kills, eight digs and two service aces. Freshman setter Jennifer Ward (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) continues to turn in one solid performance after another. Ward registered a match-high 38 assists to go with four digs and three kills. Senior middle blocker Kaili Stevens (Lenexa, Kan./Shawnee Mission West) stepped up with seven kills on the evening, and senior middle blocker Meg Troller (Elmhurst, Ill./York) chipped in a match-high three blocks in addition to five kills. Junior outside hitter Meg Mullen (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake) contributed six digs and two aces, and freshman outside hitter Molly Healy (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) came off the bench to provide five digs. In the first match of the Georgetown Classic, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) handed Pennsylvania a 3-1 (10-15, 15-7, 16-14, 15-6) loss. UMBC's record improves to 6-7 on the season, while Penn moves to 7-4.

Senior outside hitter Joanne Marshall led the Retrievers with a match-high 17 kills, as well as 10 digs, two assists and two blocks. Senior middle hitter Kara Weiniak tied a match-high with five blocks. She also had 12 kill, 13 digs and three assists. Sophomore middle hitter Jennifer Thomas turned in a match-high 21 digs in addition to six kills, four assists and three aces. Junior middle hitter Kelly Szczerba and junior outside hitter Stephanie Horan paced the Quakers with a team-high seven kills. Horan also tied a team-high 13 digs. UMBC hit .189 for the match, while Penn tallied a .132 hitting percentage. The tournament continues tomorrow with the Hoyas taking on Pennsylvania at 12:00 noon and UMBC at 5:00 p.m.