The volleyball team enters this weekend’s Midwest road trip in second place in the Big East standings and has a chance to extend its seven-game win streak.  

At 18-4 overall and 8-1 in conference play, the Wildcats will take on Depaul on Friday night before traveling to Marquette on Saturday.

Villanova is enjoying its most successful season since 2010 when it won 23 regular season games before losing to Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament.  With 18 victories to this point in the season, ’Nova is in very good position to eclipse that total and make a run at a Big East Championship.

Eleven of the Wildcats victories this season have been in straight sets, and they have only gone to the fifth set once (October 10 against Butler).  

The play of senior Emma Pettit and sophomore Allie Loitz have propelled the team to the next level and will continue to play a major part of ’Nova’s success down the stretch.

Loitz was named Big East player of the week for the week of Oct. 5 and she and Pettit each recorded double-doubles in the Wildcats victory over Providence during fall break.  

The pair rank among Big East leaders in several categories.  Pettit leads the conference in assists, averging 11.26 per set.  Loitz is tied for the conference lead with 30 service aces and is second in points with 4.42 per set.

Senior Lauren Carpenter and juniors Claire Crutchfield and Gabby Pethokoukis have also played a major role in many of the Wildcats’ victories.  As a whole, the team has become comfortable and each player has fit nicely into her role.

Looking forward to October 30, Villanova will host first place Creighton in the Jake Nevin Pavilion.  If the Wildcats and Blue Jays both take care of business until then, that matchup will be a showdown of the Big East’s best squads with a share of the top spot in the conference on the line.