Nov. 7, 2010
Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team (21-6, 9-3 BIG EAST) concluded the season at home with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-12, 24-26, 25-18) victory over DePaul on Sunday afternoon at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse to complete the weekend with two wins.
"It was great to finish out the at home with a win and to go undefeated in the weekend," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We're going to look to finish the regular season strong on the road and hopefully this momentum can carry us."
Three Wildcats' posted double figure kills with redshirt sophomore Morgan Petkovich leading the way with 20 kills and 17 digs for her second consecutive double-double. Sophomore Krista Andersen recorded 16 kills and junior Maggie Mergen tallied 13.
Freshman Alyssa Anderson gave out a match high 47 assists and junior Kim Maroon collected 26 digs.
The game was tied seven times in the opening plays of the first set before Mergen and K. Andersen connected on kills to give Villanova a 15-12 lead. After a timeout from DePaul Petkovich smashed back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 18-13. Anderson served the final six points as the Wildcats won, 25-14.
Junior Kara Chatham served six points opening the second frame as K. Andersen connected on three consecutive kills to give the Wildcats a 9-3 lead. The Blue Demons called their second timeout trailing 16-5 and Anderson served for four additional points out of the break to extend the lead to 20-5. DePaul found the floor for three kills in a row but Villanova closed out the set with a 25-12 victory.
The Blue Demons opened the third set with a 5-2 lead before `Nova was able to come back to tie the score at seven apiece. After an 8-8 tie, DePaul went on a 10-4 run forcing Villanova into a timeout. Petkovich and K. Andersen smashed kills to close to within three points, 20-17 as the Blue Demons used a timeout, but still trailed after the break, 23-19. DePaul earned set point at 24-21 and two errors and a kill from Mergen extended the match into extra points, but the Blue Demons won, 26-24.
DePaul once again took an early lead in the fourth set, 8-6, but Villanova traded points back-and-forth after a 10-10 tie before taking a 17-15 lead after a kill from Petkovich. After a timeout from the Blue Demons, Villanova went on a 5-1 run to extend its lead to 23-16. Petkovich smashed the final two kills to close out the victory and win the match.
After the Wildcats' victory over Notre Dame on Friday night they have qualified for a berth to the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2007. Villanova currently sits in fourth place with two matches remaining. The `Cats will conclude the regular season at Georgetown on Nov. 12 and at USF on Nov. 14 at 2:00 p.m.
