Villanova volleyball extended its undefeated record to eight games this weekend after defeating Delaware on Saturday, Sept. 13 and Old Dominion on Sunday, Sept. 14. With the wins, the Wildcats have continued their most successful start to the season since 2009.
The Wildcats defeated Delaware in three sets (25-23, 25-12, 25-23).
“Road wins are hard to get at a Division l college,” Steinbach said. “Anytime you beat someone on the road, you want to celebrate that, so everyone was in a pretty good place after the weekend.”
Villanova’s win over Old Dominion (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-14) was part of the Old Dominion Invitational in Norfolk, Virginia, where Villanova had a dominant 58 kills, 12 blocks and 78 points.
“One of the things we’re doing really well is playing with confidence,” head coach Josh Steinbach said. “Both of our outside hitters have really come up big with big swings and we’re in a good place right now.”
Sophomore Campbell McKinnon earned Player of the Match after racking up 13 kills and six blocks on a .706 hitting percentage. This forceful approach gave the Wildcats the boost they needed to overcome the 22-25 loss in the third set.
“Campbell can really restore order for us offensively when she’s in there,” Steinbach said. “She is kind of unstoppable right now by some teams.”
Sophomore Taylor Lewis also contributed 10 kills and two blocks in the win.
“I thought Taylor Lewis had a great match,” Steinbach said. “She’s a steady offense for us. She was really good on the right and she knows how to move the ball around. She’s just a precision attacker and found some good places.”
After a disappointing third set, the Wildcats found their way back in the fourth.
“We felt like we didn’t execute very well in the middle set,” Steinbach said. “We just couldn’t quite come back. But we served really well in the fourth and put a little pressure on them. That’s probably the one thing that made a big difference.”
Other contributions to the dominant performance included senior Abby Harrell’s 12 kills and four aces as well as sophomore Alyssa Nelson’s fifth straight double-double, with 26 assists and 10 digs. These consistent outputs make the team still unbeatable as they still boast an 8-0 record.
“We haven’t talked about being undefeated,” Steinbach said. “We’re just trying to worry about the next match. The talk in the locker room is about preparing for the next match as if it’s the biggest match of the year.”
Several young players also hit career-highs on Sunday, putting the promising future of the team on display. Freshman Reagan McGivern hit a personal record of five kills and freshman Marikate Ritterbusch contributed a career-high five digs.
“Our team is young and I like to let them play through things because I’m confident in them to resolve setbacks,” Steinbach said. “Our coaching staff is really excited about this particular group.”
The Wildcats head to South Dakota on Thursday, Sept. 18 for their next match in hopes of continuing the historic run. Villanova will then face Drake on Friday, Sept. 19 and Wichita State on Saturday, Sept. 20 in the South Dakota Classic.
