The Wildcats had a tough weekend on the road, going 0-2 in the Midwest. Both of the teams Villanova played are ranked in the top two in the Big East conference. The ‘Cats had to power through some undeniable competition. On Friday, Villanova lost, 0-3 (14-25, 15-25, 15-25), to Marquette. Then, Villanova traveled to Creighton, where it was defeated by the Blue Jays, 0-3 (10-25, 12-25, 18-25).
“I think [Creighton and Marquette] have been one and two in the league since 2015,” Villanova head coach Josh Steinbach said. “Those are tough matches for us, they are especially tough on the road.”
To start off the weekend, the ‘Cats made the trek to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on the Golden Eagles. Marquette is ranked No. 2 in the Big East, with a conference record of, 10-1, after only losing to Creighton. As for the ‘Cats, the team is ranked No. 6 in the conference, with a record of 6-6.
Villanova struggled in the first set, allowing the Golden Eagles a 7-0 run in the middle of the match. This put Marquette at a 13-2 lead over the Wildcats. Marquette went on to accomplish a few more scoring drives across the next two sets to put them up against Villanova. Despite their difficult defeat, the ‘Cats still pulled off an average performance out west.
Freshman setter Alyssa Nelson managed 16 assists and one ace against the Golden Eagles. Graduate outside hitter Riley Homer was the highest scorer for the ‘Cats that night with 8.5 points along with six digs. Sophomore outside hitter Abby Harrell had five kills and eight blocks. Graduate transfer Taylor Jakubowski pulled off seven digs on Friday, which now puts her over 170 for the 2024 season.
After a short time in Milwaukee, the ‘Cats traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to take on Creighton on Nov 3. The Blue Jays are ranked No. 6 in the country and No. 1 in the Big East. They remain undefeated in the conference, 11-0, and have only lost two games the entire season. Therefore, the ‘Cats had to overcome the unimaginable to pull off a win, however they fell short in a hard-fought game.
“They have a great place and a great crowd; it was just one of the games where I don’t know if we played poorly, or they were just better that night,” Steinbach said. “That’s just one of those things we got to regroup and get back and get ready to go with this week’s big matches at home.”
Harrell had nine kills and five digs against the Blue Jays. With no surprise, Harrell was the highest Wildcat scorer with nine points. Freshman middle blocker Campbell McKinnon was the second highest scorer with 6.5 points. McKinnon also accomplished five kills and two blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Annika Veurink was subbed in during the third set. Verunik ultimately pulled off two kills and one block in the third set, scoring two points for the ‘Cats.
Homer achieved a monumental threshold of 1,000 career kills on Sunday and six kills against the Blue Jays.
“One thousand kills in our sport is a big deal,” Steinbach said. “[Homer] been a great competitor throughout her career, and we’re happy she can hit that milestone.”
Looking forward to the seventh week of conference play, the Wildcats are back at home this weekend. Because they have previously beat the next two teams, the ‘Cats have a bit of an easier schedule coming up. On Friday, Nov. 8 the ‘Cats will take on Xavier at 4 p.m. and then on Saturday, Nov. 9, Villanova will play DePaul at 7 p.m. Both games are scheduled to take place at Jake Nevin Field House.
“We’re getting down to the end of the season where people are fighting for positions in the lead,” Steinbach said. “We wanna make sure we can extend our season. Every minute counts.”
