Villanova, Pa. – Villanova volleyball kicks off a three-game homestand tonight when the Seton Hall Pirates visit Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. The homestand will continue Friday against No. 12 Marquette and Saturday against DePaul.
 
After facing La Salle last weekend, the Wildcats (12-5, 3-2) resume conference play with tonight's 7 p.m. tilt against Seton Hall (7-14, 2-5). Each team is coming off back-to-back losses, so both teams will be looking to get back in the win column. The Wildcats are 41-18 all-time against Seton Hall and swept last year's matchups, winning 3-1 and 3-0.
 
Seton Hall's attack is led by Haylee Gasser, who checks in with 204 kills and is seventh in the BIG EAST at 2.96 kills/set. Maggie Cvelbar leads the Pirates in assists with 452 and Raygan Murray leads in digs with 270, although there are four total Pirates with 140+ digs.
 
"It's three BIG EAST matches so it's obviously a huge week for us," said head coach Josh Steinbach. "It's nice to have them at home because we need to get well after a couple of road losses. Seton Hall tonight is always a big rival and somebody who plays incredibly hard and will be a tough match. Teams that play hard are always dangerous. I think Seton Hall always comes in here with intensity, so we'll have to be on our game tonight."
 
Following Seton Hall, the Wildcats will face a tough opponent in No. 12 Marquette. The Golden Eagles are 15-3 on the season and 5-1 in conference with the lone conference loss being in five sets to No. 11 Creighton. Marquette has two top-20 wins this season over then-No. 17 BYU and then-No. 4 Wisconsin. Villanova is 4-16 all-time against Marquette and has dropped the last three matches. The last Wildcat win in the series was a 3-2 victory in 2017.
 
Marquette is led by all-American outside hitter Allie Barber, who leads the conference and is 12^th in the nation with 4.60 kills/set and 313 on the year. Lauren Speckman leads in assists with 415, but has split time at the position with Sarah Rose who has 301. Martha Konovodof anchors the defense with 315 digs behind a strong front line where Elizabeth Orf and Gwyn Jones each have over 40 blocks.
 
"Marquette is one of the elite teams in the country so playing that match will be a fun one for us and a huge challenge," Coach Steinbach said. "They're very physical and athletic as well as very skilled. We will have our absolute best effort to be in a close match with Marquette and we are excited for that and are aware of the challenge that presents."
 
Friday night's match with Marquette will be youth day at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. The match will feature a t-shirt toss, post-match autograph session and more. 

Villanova will have a quick turnaround to play its third match in four days against DePaul on Saturday. DePaul is 10-8 on the season and 2-4 in BIG EAST play. Up to this point, it has been a tale of two halves of the season for t Blue Demons. They started the season strong, winning eight of their first nine games, but have hit a slide lately and have now lost seven of their last nine. Villanova is 18-2 all-time against DePaul and have won five matches in a row.
 
DePaul is led this year by Brittany Maxwell with 263 kills and 3.65 kills/set, a mark good for third in the conference. Katie Dolan and Natalie Hayward have split time this season at setter, each with 360+ assists. Isabelle Banez leads the BIG EAST in total digs with 357, and is second with 5.03 digs/set.
 
"DePaul on Saturday is a new DePaul team and different than what we have seen the past few years," Coach Steinbach said. "They are much better, very good offensively and tough to deal with. We will have to defend at a high level during that match."
 
The match against DePaul will be the annual Dig Pink match in support for breast cancer awareness and the search for a cure. All fans are encouraged to wear pink! 

Each match will be available on Nova Nation All-Access, as well as live stats. Each link is available on the Villanova volleyball schedule page on Villanova.com.
 
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