WASHINGTON, D.C.- UConn volleyball finished their two match weekend road trip on Sunday afternoon against Georgetown as the BIG EAST Tournament race continued to heat up across the conference. 

Huskies got out to a slim 5-3 lead, with Doga Kutlu contributing two kills, with Hanna Tylska and Taylor Pannell locking it down defensively with a combined block. In her homecoming to the DMV area, Grace Maria (Arlington, Va.) got on the board in the first with a kill, and a block assist with Pannell to extend the lead to 12-7, getting the Hoyas to call a timeout. The Huskies extended their run to 6-0, with Isabella Suhy sending in an ace and Kutlu getting her fourth kill of the set to keep the edge at 16-9. UConn errors and three kills from Georgetown's Dionna Mitchell got the Hoyas within four at 20-16, leading the Huskies to call timeout. Kills from Pannell and Loren Winn staved off the Georgetown rally, as UConn took the set 25-19.

UConn carried the momentum over in the opening moments of the second game, with Tyklsa leading the way with two terminations to get the visitors in front 6-2. Mitchell and the Hoyas stormed back on a 4-0 run to get the score to 7-6 as UConn talked it over. In a game of runs, it was the Huskies who responded with their own 4-0 run, with Maria, Winn, and Tylska extending the lead back to 12-8. The margin stayed at a semi-comfortable five points for UConn, with the combined efforts of Tylska, Kultu, and Maria maintaining the lead at 18-13. The Hoya attack cut the lead to one at 23-22, with the intensity ramping up in the second, but UConn held on to take a 2 set to 0 lead.

The sides traded points at the start of the third, as Georgetown grabbed the first lead at 5-3, as Mitchell notched her match-leading 11^th and 12^th kills. Mary Grace Goyena and Vaughan Anoa'I anchored the Hoyas defensively, with the hosts up 10-6. Georgetown rode this early lead to an extended 8-0 run to go up 18-10. The relentless Huskies were eager to close the match out, going on an 8-0 run of their own, courtesy of Tylska and Winn's heroics, leading 22-20, but Anoa'I and Goyena extended the match to a fourth set, winning the third 25-23.

A hotly contested fourth set saw UConn battle back down from an early two point deficit, again aided by Tylska and Maria to knot the score at 7. Hoya miscues and timely UConn offense built a slim 3-point lead for UConn at 13-10. As she has done all year, Pannell stepped up when the team needed her the most, stringing together three straight kills to get the lead to an insurmountable 20-15. Georgetown cut the lead to one to put the pressure on, but Tylska and Winn slammed the door on a road UConn win in four sets. 

Tylska finished with 19 kills to lead UConn, while Mitchell matched her with 19 in the defeat for Georgetown.

Up Next: UConn returns to Storrs, with two crucial matches against DePaul on Friday night, (senior night for the Huskies), and a showdown with Xavier on Saturday afternoon. Georgetown will face Marquette in Milwaukee on Friday night.