In front of an enthusiastic audience at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse, Villanova women’s volleyball dominated Temple in straight sets (25-17, 25-23, 25-21) on Friday, Sept. 20.
Villanova then swept Rhode Island (25-12, 25-23, 25-19) on Saturday to close out its victory at the Wildcat Challenge.
The ‘Cats are now winners of four straight, bringing their record to 7-4.
The Wildcats played with aggression. Freshman setter Alyssa Nelson totaled 17 assists. Nelson’s efforts helped direct the attack to sophomore outside hitter Abby Harrell, who led the way with 12 kills. Freshman middle-blocker Campbell McKinnon also recorded 12 kills. McKinnon has had an electrifying freshman season. McKinnon leads the team in blocks with 42, and is second in kills to Harrell.
“Campbell [McKinnon] is a breath of fresh air,” Villanova head coach Josh Steinbach said. “She plays really hard, and is a highlight reel. She is such a fun kid to coach and it has been awesome to have her on the team.”
Harrell has continued her success from freshman year, establishing herself as one of the team’s leading scorers.
“Abby [Harrell] is a grinder, works really hard and does all the little things you need to do to be successful,” Steinbach said. “Both [Harrell and McKinnon] work really hard and are very thoughtful about the game. They both study and pay attention to what is going on in the game. So I am very excited to have both of them on the team.”
Villanova did not take long to establish itself in the opening set.
With a close score early in the first set, Villanova relied on McKinnon’s solid attacks and a few errors from Temple to gain a 10-7 lead. Temple fought to come back later in the set, Villanova was able to close out the set on a five-point run.
In the second set, Villanova started off with a 4–1 lead, but Temple was unwilling to let that lead build. With some aggressive offense from the Owls and some errors from the Wildcats, Temple eventually took the lead, 11-7.
The ‘Cats took back control of the game on their home court and eventually reclaimed the lead, 20-15.
Although Villanova had a substantial advantage heading toward the end of set two, the Owls would not give up. Temple went on a six-point run to close that gap and eventually tied the set, 22-22.
The Wildcats were able to close out the set with a 25-23 win.
After almost taking the second set, the Owls used that energy to fuel them into the third, taking an early 3-0 lead. But the freshman-sophomore duo of Harrell and McKinnon took over and gave the Wildcats a lead of 9-7. Villanova led the rest of the set, with Temple being unable to retake the lead.
Villanova ended up winning the set, 25-21, and the game in straight sets, 3-0.
“Everyone was playing well,” McKinnon said. “Passing was good, the defense was on point, and we were not letting many balls hit the ground. The main goal for this game was to play our game, stay focused, and take care of business.”
Steinbach saw room for improvement following the hard-earned win over the City Six opponent.
“I don’t think we played our best volleyball,” said Steinbach. “But this is an in-town rival so it’s a great win to get any time, no matter how it comes out and we played well enough to make a run in each set which is all we needed.”
Next week, women’s volleyball looks to continue its winning streak as conference play begins on Friday, Sept. 27. Villanova will host Georgetown at home in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.
