Villanova’s unbeaten conference streak came to an end this weekend in a Friday and Saturday home doubleheader.
The Wildcats (12-3, 3-1 Big East) swept Butler, 3-0, on Friday night. They then suffered a 3-2 loss to Xavier on Saturday.
“I thought we played amazing against Butler,” sophomore middle blocker Campbell McKinnon said. “We were cohesive when things got down. We came back and played as a team, and we were able to put a lot of good pressure on Butler.”
In a packed Jake Nevin Field House, Villanova fans came to cheer on women’s volleyball Friday night for the “Jam the Jake” matchup, as the team took on Butler in a straight set victory (25-19, 25-23, 25-15).
The ‘Cats opened up set one with an early, 10-4 lead. They were led by strong offensive swings from sophomore and junior outside hitters Cat Young and Abby Harrell, alongside McKinnon.
Butler responded with a run after a few kills and errors from Villanova’s side, bringing the score to 14-14. However, Villanova’s offensive hitting and blocking were too strong for the Bulldogs, and it closed out set one in a 25-19 victory.
In set two, the ‘Cats opened up the set with the first point, but Butler came into set two with a purpose. The Bulldogs started to build a slight, 10-8 lead.
Early in the set, Young went down with an ankle injury and would not return for the rest of the game. Junior outside and opposite hitter Marly Smith subbed in.
Butler began to pull away, building a 17-10 lead. But that hot streak did not last long, and a kill from McKinnon sparked a 10-2 Villanova run to regain the lead, 20-19. After storming back from being down seven points, Villanova never looked back, closing out the set, 25-23.
Villanova continued the momentum from sets one and two, executing powerful kills and blocks, and ultimately closed out the third set on a 9-2 run to secure the match win in a score of 25-15.
“I thought we played well,” Villanova head coach Josh Steinbach said. “We had an early stretch in the second set against Butler which was tough, [but we] made a really nice comeback. Cat Young went down with an ankle sprain, but was able to rally back after that.”
Villanova suffered its first conference loss of the season against Xavier (29-31, 25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 16-14).
After back-and-forth points to open up the set, the Wildcats went on a 7-2 run to take a 16-9 lead. The set eventually reached a 23-23 tie. After three straight kills, the set ended in a 31-29 Wildcat win.
Xavier came in hot to take a 12-9 lead in set two, but the ‘Cats responded with four straight points. Coming out of a timeout, the Wildcats scored the following four points to tie it up, but Xavier had too much momentum and closed the set out on a 6-0 run.
Xavier’s energy from set two continued into set three, as the Musketeers opened up the set with a 12-4 advantage. Xavier’s early run in the set was too much for Villanova, and the Musketeers closed out set three, 25-16.
Set four was another close battle, as Villanova narrowly protected its conference win streak with a 25-23 win.
In the final set, Xavier grabbed an early 9-5 lead. Late in the set, the Wildcats went on a four-point run to tie it at 14-14, but the Musketeers grabbed the final two points of the match to take the victory.
“Leaving [the Xavier] game, we’re fired up a little more competitively,” McKinnon said. “We are a very competitive team, but we want to play a little harder and gain a few more points than we did.”
Although the Wildcats’ conference streak is over, they still remain third in the conference.
The Wildcats will be back on the road on Thursday, Oct. 9, as they head to Washington, D.C., to take on Georgetown (10-7, 3-1 Big East). They will then return home to face Creighton (11-5, 4-0 Big East) on Oct. 11.
