The Wildcats spent the weekend in Connecticut, where they competed in the Yale Invitational and went 2-1. Villanova (5–4) started off with a tough loss on Friday, Sept. 13 against Yale. The next day, the ‘Cats went on to defeat Colgate in three straight sets. On Sunday, Villanova beat Fairfield, 3–1.
Two weekends in a row, rookies made up half of the starters on the Villanova side of the court. Freshman middle blocker Campbell McKinnon pulled off 11 points against Colgate and 12 kills against Fairfield. McKinnon was also the highest scorer against the Stags, achieving 18 points on Sunday.
“[McKinnon] is super athletic and has a natural yield for scoring,” head coach Josh Steinbach said. “She’s just going to keep getting better for us.”
McKinnon’s fellow freshmen put on a show on the road, as well. Taylor Lewis and Cat Young both scored seven points each against Yale on Friday. Young also pulled off 11 digs that day and achieved 24 kills across Saturday and Sunday. Freshmen setter Alyssa Nelson contributed a total of 52 assists across two games.
During the Yale matchup, the ‘Cats won the second and third sets. However, their strong efforts early on were not enough to overpower the Bulldogs in five sets (18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-25, 10-15). Sophomore outside hitter Abby Harrell still managed to score 13 kills and nine digs that game, leading her to 15 points. Graduate setter Taylor Jakubowski had the highest assist count with 18. Young had 11 digs.
For the second match in Connecticut, the ‘Cats defeated Colgate (25-21, 25-22, 25-19). Usually, the ‘Cats have one or two players that dominate in all their statistics. But against Colgate, Villanova utilized its depth to create a strong team dynamic for the three-set victory.
“You always have to be ready for the next thing and that’s the got-to-do mentality, especially after a tough loss,” Steinbach said.
Senior middle blocker Ozzie Ozonoh pulled off six blocks against the Raiders. McKinnon and Harrell achieved nine kills each. Nelson had two aces and nine digs.
After two games at Yale, the Wildcats went to Fairfield University, where they overpowered the Stags 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25, 22, 25-16). Senior libero Elizabeth Feczko graced the ‘Cats with 16 digs on Sunday. Young achieved a career high of 14 kills and awarded the team 16 points. Jakubowski gave her team 22 assists to help defeat the Stags.
“We have to continue to manage our errors and take care of our side of the net,” Steinbach said. “We’ll continue to work on staying balanced offensively and keeping everyone involved.”
Villanova currently has a record of 5-4 for the 2024 season. After the long weekend in Connecticut, the ‘Cats will return home to Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. The team is scheduled to face Temple on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Wildcats will then start Big East play on Sept. 27 against Georgetown.
