Final Stats

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team was challenged early but pulled through with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 straight set win over DePaul on Saturday night in the Jake Nevin Field House.

The Wildcats (13-4, 3-1 BIG EAST) were led by Gabby Pethokoukis (Western Springs, Ill./Benet Academy) who recorded a season-high 14 kills to lead the team. The red-shirt junior hit .524 on the evening with only three errors.

DePaul (12-5, 1-4 BIG EAST) was led by Brittany Maxwell with 12 kills. Maxwell was the only Blue Demon with double digit kills on the night.

Allie Loitz (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista) matched Pethkoukis' 14 kills with 14 kills of her own. Claire Crutchfield (Falls Church, Va./Bishop O'Connell) had nine kills while Lauren Carpenter (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood) and Amanda Pedersen-Henry (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta High) each had seven kills.

"I thought everybody got in on the action and that helps," said Villanova Head Coach Josh Steinbach. "We plugged away offensively, got a little better as the match went on and were good enough to win."

The only blemish on the night for the Wildcats was 12 errors from the service line, the highest number for the team since the opening game of the season.

"That's a sign that we're trying to serve tough," continued Steinbach. "Usually a bunch of missed serves means were serving tough and we're going to have nights like that."

In the first set the Wildcats broke a 6-6 tie with a short three point spurt. Villanova led the set from that point forward and the set was capped by a pair of Crutchfield kills.

The second set saw the score tied on 16 separate occasions and seven lead changes. The final tie was at 23-23 before a Pethokoukis kill gave the 'Cats a lead and led to a DePaul timeout. On the next play Loitz came up with the clutch kill to give the win to the home team.

The final set was taking the same course as the second set with back and forth scoring. Villanova went on a 4-0 run, part of a larger 9-2 run, to break a 16-16 tie and close the match in the third.

The Villanova volleyball team plays three matches in four nights next week starting with a match at St. John's on Wednesday at 7:00pm. On Friday and Saturday the Wildcats are back home to take on Xavier and Butler on consecutive nights.

Short Box Score (Match) 2015 Villanova Volleyball DePaul vs Villanova (Oct 3, 2015 at Villanova, Pa.)

Villanova def. DePaul 25-21,25-23,25-18

DePaul (12-5, 1-4 BIG EAST) (Kills-aces-blocks) - MAXWELL, Brittany 12-0-0; COFFEY, Caitlyn 8-0-0; REED, Myah 5-0-1; LEATH, Randi 3-1-1; GALLOP, Saige 3-1-1; KING, Jasmine 1-0-2; HUEBENER, Callie 1-0-0; BUESER, Haley 1-1-0; SMITH, Colleen 1-0-0; GRAHAM, Tyler 1-1-0; Totals 36-4-3.0. (Assists) - SMITH, Colleen 28. (Dig leaders) - BUESER, Haley 11; GRAHAM, Tyler 6

Villanova (13-4, 3-1 BIG EAST) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Loitz, Allie 14-0-0; Pethokoukis, Gabby 14-0-2; Crutchfield, Claire 9-0-0; PEDERSEN-HENRY, A. 7-1-0; Carpenter, Lauren 7-0-2; Pettit, Emma 3-1-1; Knight, Ashley 0-1-0; Fitzgerald, Allison 0-1-0; Totals 54-4-3.0. (Assists) - Pettit, Emma 46. (Dig leaders) - Fitzgerald, Allison 11; Carpenter, Lauren 10; Adams, Michelle 9

Site: Villanova, Pa. (Nevin Field House) Date: Oct 3, 2015 Attend: 392 Time: 1:24 Referees: Chris Cant, Ed Tucholski