Box Score Fort Worth, Texas -- The Villanova Wildcats (2-0) were given all they could handle by the High Point Panthers (1-2) Saturday afternoon, but were able to prevail and win their first five-set match of the season 3-2.
 
Villanova had a little bit more to play for today, after losing in straight sets to High Point last season at home. It was clearly a different ballgame today, in both match length and result.
 
"It was a hard fought win for us," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "It's always good to get tested like that and be able to come through in the fifth."
 
Villanova picked up where it left off yesterday in the first set, taking it 25-17. After being knotted at 7-7, the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run to push it to 17-9 and didn't look back.
 
The Wildcats kept the momentum going into the second set, utilizing a few smaller runs to put away the Panthers. After the set was tied at 4-4, a 5-0 run provided a bit of a cushion for Villanova. At 20-14, Villanova went on a quick 4-0 run to make it 24-14 and all but end the set before winning it a few points later at 25-16.
 
After trailing 2-0, High Point did anything but go quietly, and came out of the intermission taking the next two sets. Both the third and fourth sets were tight the whole way, with neither team grabbing more than a four-point lead during either set. High Point rallied late in the third and won 27-25. After once again being tied at 23 in the fourth set, High Point got two quick points to win 25-23 and force a decisive fifth set.
 
While High Point carried the momentum into the fifth set, Villanova quickly regained it by jumping out to a 6-1 lead. High Point once again refused let the match end, and after trailing 14-7, scored four straight to force a Villanova timeout. The Wildcats came out of the timeout refocused and Mallory Potts got the kill to end the match.
 
Villanova continues to flex its depth, getting sizeable contributions across the board. Sanaä Barnes had strong showing, leading the team with 14 kills to tie the second-highest kill total of her career. Fairchild and Allie Olsonoski had 13 each while Clare Delaplane had 11. Nearly all of those kills came courtesy of Emma Decker, who racked up 51 assists on the day, just one shy of her season high from last year. Villanova finished the day hitting .251.
 
"I thought Emma was outstanding in spreading the ball around and Sanaa had a great match, Coach Steinbach said. "It's a good win for us and I think bodes well for the rest of the year"
 
On the defensive side, Regan Lough finished with a team high 27 digs while Fairchild added 22. This is the first time two Wildcats have each had 20 or more digs in a game since Oct. 14, 2016 when Lough and Allison Fitzgerald did it against Butler.
 
Sophomore transfer Sophia Howling was a force at the net, tallying five blocks on the day, helping hold HPU to just a .167 hitting percentage on the day.
 
Villanova wraps up its time in Texas tomorrow when they take on TCU at 2:00 ET. Follow that game with @NovaVolleyball on Twitter for real-time updates and a live-stream.