Oct. 14, 2003
MIAMI, FLA. - Katie Lanting sparked the Wildcat offense with 11 kills to lead Villanova to a 3-0 win over Florida International in a non-conference match on Tuesday night at Golden Panther Arena. The Wildcats swept the match by scores of 30-25, 30-25 and 30-27.
The Wildcats and Golden Panthers were nip and tuck early, and the game was tied at 18-18 before Villanova went on a scoring run to build a 25-20 cushion. Erin Birunas has two kills and Katie Lanting added another to fuel the spurt. FIU closed to within 28-25 before points by Kate Tucker and Lanting closed out game one, 30-25. Dana Kabashima, Birunas and Tucker each had kills in the game for the 'Cats.
Game two started out just as tight as the first. With Villanova holding an 11-10 lead, the 'Cats reeled off a 6-1 run to open up a 17-11 gap. Megan Bye, Kabashima and Birunas all scored during that stretch for the 'Cats. FIU stormed back to knot the score, 20-20, behind the play of Myriam Rodney and Laura Vogel. Kerri Sullivan and Celine Nguyen guided Villanova back to a 25-20 advantage as they went on for the 30-25 win.
FIU (10-8) took control early in game three, 8-5, helped by two kills from Jennifer Owens. Villanova rallied to take a 13-10 lead, as Tucker, Sullivan and Lanting each scored points. The game then see-sawed back and forth, with neither team building more than a two-point cushion until the Wildcats went ahead 28-24 after two kills by Lanting and a Jennifer Edwards' ace. Nguyen smacked a cross-court kill to finish off game three, 30-27.
Lanting tallied a match-high 11 kills for the Wildcats to go along with a solo block and five block assists. Nguyen and Kabashima each registered nine kills, while Birunas managed eight kills and four block assists. Jennifer Badran-Grycan spurred the defensive effort with 16 digs and Edwards totaled 20 assists.
For FIU, Owens finished with 11 kills and four block assists.
The Wildcats (6-13) have a week off before returning to the court with a non-conference contest on Oct. 21 at Fairfield.
