Villanova, Pa. – The Villanova Wildcats (8-2) handed Temple (9-1) it's first loss of the season by a score of 3-1 in front of a packed house in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse to begin the Villanova classic Thursday night.
 
Villanova was paced by 15 kills from Clare Delaplane, a new season high for her. Mallory Potts added 13, and Sanaä Barnes notched 10.
 
"It was just great crowd support tonight," said head coach Josh Steinbach. "That was huge for them to come out and certainly played a part in the match."

Villanova certainly looked happy to be back in the home gym during the first set, taking it in dominant fashion 25-14. Villanova got up early and never looked back thanks to an early 7-0 run. By the end of the first set, Delaplane already had five kills and Villanova was hitting .361.
 
The Owls found their groove in the second set and flipped the script on the Wildcats. Gem Grimshaw had five kills in the second set for Temple. Delaplane continued her big match during the second and headed to the break with nine kills.
 
After the break, it was all Wildcats to the finish line. Barnes provided a big lift in the third with four kills, and her high-flying athleticism got the near-capacity crowd on its feet over and over again. The defense stepped up in the third set, with four team blocks courtesy of two block assists each from Sophia Howling, Allie Olsonoski and Potts. Anna Morse had the highlight of the evening, chasing a ball into, and ultimately through the Villanova bench to keep a point alive while taking a fall, but helping the Wildcats win a point, and the set 25-15.
 
Villanova wasted no time in closing out the match in the fourth set, hitting .400 as a team in the final frame. Delaplane and Potts had five kills each, and Delaplane added a pair of aces to her solid stat line for the night. Villanova took the final set 25-18.

"I thought we had a good balanced team performance," Coach Steinbach said. "Emma, Allie, Regan and Remy all played like seniors.  Temple is a good team and that's a good win for us."
 
Villanova finished hitting .310 on the night, while Emma Decker handed out 42 assists and Regan Lough compiled 25 digs.
 
Villanova will return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. to take on Delaware in the final match of the Villanova Classic.
 
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