Aug 31, 2013
Final Stats
ROCHESTER, Mich.- The Villanova women's volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker Saturday at the Athletics Center O'rena when Central Michigan (1-2) upended the Wildcats, 3-2 (25-18, 25-21, 28-30, 15-25, 18-20).
"This was a tough match," Villanova head coach Josh Steinbach said. "It's early and I'm pleased with how hard we played."
The loss concluded the Golden Grizzlies Invitational, where the Wildcats finished 1-2 on their first weekend of the 2013 season. The lone victory came against host Oakland Saturday afternoon.
Villanova jumped out to a 9-2 lead to begin the match and would go on to win the first set, 25-18. The Wildcats looked to be in control after a 25-21 second set victory but fell, 30-28, in a back and forth third set that swung the momentum the Chippewas way.
After winning 25-15 in the fourth stanza, Central Michigan would force a decisive fifth set. With the set tied at 18, the Chippewas would rally to win the final two points and clinch the victory.
"Our team hopefully learns from this one and is better for it as the season progresses," Steinbach added.
Sophomores Lauren Carpenter and Gabby Pethokoukis led the charge for the Wildcats. Carpenter finished with a game-high 21 kills on 55 attacks (.327 pct.) and four digs, while Pethokoukis registered a spectacular nine kills on 14 attempts (.571 pct.) and three blocks.
Freshman Michaela Berendt continued her solid play throughout the tournament, recording 10 kills on 23 tries (.304 pct.), two digs and three blocks.
Mariah Henley and Emma Pettit manned the defensive effort, finishing with 28 and 15 digs respectively. Henley recently moved into third all-time on the Villanova career digs list after adding 72 digs over the three games to push her total to 1,228 in her four years as a Wildcat.
Carpenter and Henley were named to the Golden Grizzlies Invitational All-Tournament team for their exceptional play throughout the weekend.
The Wildcats will return to action Friday (Sept. 6) when they travel to Lincoln, Neb. to play in front of 8,000 plus fans against No. 10 Nebraska. The team will be honoring legendary coach, Terry Pettit, that night by naming the court after him. He is the father of Villanova sophomore center Emma Pettit.
