This past weekend, Villanova’s volleyball team headed to the Midwest, where it defeated Butler but fell to Xavier on Saturday. With only two more weeks of Big East play remaining, the Wildcats are 16-9 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
On Friday, Nov. 3, Villanova defeated Butler in five sets (25-17, 12-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-10). The ‘Cats still stand at fifth in the Big East, whereas the Bulldogs fell eighth in the conference.
Although the Wildcats were only able to pull off three blocks on Friday, their strengths were more apparent on other areas of the court. Senior Madeline Barber was a force against the Bulldogs with 18 kills, while senior Kiera Booth was not far behind with 17. Senior setter Andrea Campos led the team with 47 of the 56 assists, while senior Taryn Whittingham also helped with seven assists. Senior Riley Homer and junior defensive specialist Elizabeth Feczko both matched each other with one assist. Whittingham also had 24 digs across the five sets, with sophomore Skylar Gerhardt contributing 16 digs of her own.
On Sunday, Nov. 5, Villanova lost to Xavier at the Cintas Center (25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25, 8-15). The Musketeers are now No. 5 in the Big East with a conference record of 9-5.
In the match, Booth led her team with 16 kills, while freshman outside hitter Abby Harrell put up 15. Campos again led the Wildcats in assists with 48 to total her weekend assists at 95.
“[Campos] is continuing to prove over her career and over the season she is one of our most athletic kids on the floor,” head coach Josh Steinbach said.
Whittingham and Feczko matched their dig total at 15, while Gerhardt contributed with 11. Gerhardt and Harrell both pulled off three aces.
Villanova had six blocks on Sunday afternoon, and Barber, Booth and Harrell each had two blocks to hold off the Musketeers from sweeping the match.
“For us, being able to get some defensive stops is really important,” Steinbach said.
Looking ahead, the Wildcats are back at Villanova this upcoming weekend, where they will celebrate senior weekend and have their last home games of the season. The Wildcats will face DePaul on Friday, Nov. 10 and Marquette on Saturday, Nov. 11. Both matches are set to begin at 6 p.m.
