Women’s volleyball drops 2 conference matches

Kate McAvey

It was a weekend of losses for the women’s volleyball team as it fell 3-2 to Louisville on Friday and 3-0 to Cincinnati on Sunday.

The match on Friday was a close one for the team, and three Wildcats recorded double figure kills. Junior Maggie Mergen tallied 14 for the day, while sophomores Morgan Petkovich and CeCe Twitty totaled 12 and 13 kills, respectively.

The first game of the match was neck-and-neck. The two teams found themselves tied with 17 a piece. Petkovich was able to ace back-to-back kills to take the 24-21 lead, and Mergen smacked the final kill to take game one.

The Wildcats started out strong in game two when they were able to gain a 6-1 lead before the Cardinals took their first timeout. ‘Nova kept the streak going until they were able to reach 24-15 when Louisville had an error to give the ‘Cats the second victory.

It was in the third game when things started to turn for the Wildcats. The teams were tied at 13 a piece, but after a few errors the cardinals were ahead 21-18. The game ended, and ‘Nova fell 25-23.

The fourth game ended in similar fashion, and the fifth set was a close one. ‘Nova took a 7-4 lead, but at 12-9 Louisville had the lead. The Wildcats came within one point, 13-12, but in the end the Cardinals were able to finish victorious.

On Sunday the team traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats. Mergen led the team with 10 kills, and freshman Allison Williams totaled six for the day.

During the first game the Wildcats took their first timeout trailing 10-5, but the Bearcats couldn’t be stopped and extended their lead to 20-5. The final score of the first set was 25-12.

‘Nova was able to get on the scoreboard first, but at 10 apiece the teams were tied. Cincinnati then went on a 5-1 run forcing the ‘Cats into a timeout. ‘Nova was able to gain a little ground after the timeout, but five unanswered points ended the game 25-16.

During the final game, Villanova used its first timeout when they were down 12-8. Petkovich and Twitty were able to get some aces, but the Bearcats kept the lead and ended up winning 25-16.

The ‘Cats host Notre Dame tomorrow at 1 p.m. and DePaul on Sunday at 2 p.m.