Villanova, Pa. – The Villanova Wildcats (7-2) are set to host their home opener tonight as part of the Villanova Classic when they welcome the Temple Owls (9-0) to Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. That match will begin at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats won their home opener last year in dramatic fashion, taking down No. 21 Utah in five sets. Villanova is 10-2 in home openers under
Josh Steinbach, having won five of the last six as well.
Villanova is coming off a 2-1 performance at the Trojan Invitational with wins over Yale and Howard before falling to No. 20 USC.
Villanova has gotten significant contributions from its upperclassmen this season, with seniors
Emma Decker and
Regan Lough leading in assists and digs, respectively, while a junior and two seniors are among the top four in kills on the team. Sophomore Sanaä Barnes is leading the team in kills with 70 so far this year, including 19 against Yale last Friday, a new career high.
Villanova will play another home match on Saturday to conclude the Villanova Classic when they take on Delaware (8-1) at 7:00 p.m.
"First and foremost, We're excited to play at home," said head coach
Josh Steinbach. "When we have a good crowd here there's nothing like playing in Jake Nevin"
On Friday, the Villanova will host two matches, Delaware vs La Salle at 4:30 followed by Princeton vs Temple at 7:00. There will be one more neutral site match on Saturday at 4:30 between La Salle and Princeton before the Wildcats and Blue Hens close it out at 7:00.
Temple is one of just 10 remaining undefeated teams in the country, currently sitting at 9-0, and has won eight of its matches in straight sets. The Owls are coming off a 3-0 weekend at home, where they defeated Radford, Columbia and Lehigh. The offensive attack has been led by Gem Grimshaw with 104 kills and Tyler Lindgren with 286 assists.
The Delaware Blue Hens are no slouch either, coming to Villanova with an 8-1 record. Delaware dropped its first match of the season to West Virginia, and has since reeled off eight consecutive wins. Delaware has a high-powered offense led by Maria Bellinger with 143 kills. Her 4.47 kills/set mark is good for 31
st in the nation. Delaware as a team is hitting .298, putting them 16
th in the country. Ezgi Basaranlar checks in at 16
th in the country with 11.16 assists/set.
"Temple and Delaware have had great starts to their seasons and so I expect a couple of really tough matches here," Coach Steinbach said. "Both teams are coached very well and will be prepared. We'll have to be at our best to get wins."
Each match of the event be available via Nova Nation All-Access, with links available on the volleyball page on Villanova.com.
Follow all of the action this weekend @NovaVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram.
