On Oct. 31, ‘Nova pulled a few tricks over Boston College and tasted the sweet thrill of victory. The win extended the current run to 7-1, and the ‘Cats winning streak to five, in a 3-0 sweep of the Eagles.

The ‘Cats pulled in scores of 30-21, 30-23, and 33-31 in their victory.

“Just like any [other] game we play, we tried to focus on gaining momentum from the first point,” Sam Hartwell said. “It was important for our team to establish control from the beginning and maintain that control throughout the game.”

Erin Birunas helped push ‘Nova to victory with a game-high .421 hitting percentage. Celine Nguyen, Kerri Sullivan and Birunas each registered 10 kills for the Wildcats and were bolstered by Sam Hartwell’s 16 digs.

The team rallied around freshman Adrian Semrau, who led Villanova with 13 kills, two solo blocks and three block assists in the match against the young Eagles.

“By trying to learn as much as possible about new positions in practice, namely the right side, which I played against B.C., I was able to optimize my performance in the last game,” said Semrau.

Villanova is now in sixth place with a conference record of 4-4 and is within striking distance of earning a postseason berth. St. John’s and Virginia Tech stand just ahead of the ‘Cats in the Big East.

“We have been working so hard in practice to reach our goal of making it to the Big East [tournament],” said Birunas.

The women’s last five games of the season are all at home, and four of the five games are against Big East teams.

With the exception of St. John’s, the Big East competitors are all under a .500 winning percentage in the conference. “With each win we get better and better, and we know we are one step closer,” Briuanas said.

The women play Rutgers tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Jake Nevin Fieldhouse in another must-win Big East showdown.