LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Villanova women's volleyball suffered its first defeat of the year on Friday night, falling to the UMBC Retrievers in four sets (22-25, 25-21, 17-25, 24-26) at the Cardinal & Gold Classic.

"We played hard but didn't execute very well," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "UMBC played a good match but that's one I expect us to win. We've got some things to iron out."

The Wildcats began the match with an early lead, going up 7-3 early in the contest. But UMBC came right back, eventually taking a 16-14 advantage. VU battled to take the opening frame, but could not catch the Retrievers.

Set two was back-and-forth and became tied at 8-8, but the 'Cats then took control with a 6-1 run. Villanova did not trail for the rest of the stanza, taking it 25-21.

The third frame was all UMBC, as the Retrievers maintained a lead throughout the entire set and captured a 25-17 victory.

Neither team could establish momentum in the fourth period, as it featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. After the final tie at 24-24, UMBC took the final two points and the match.

Rose Crist led the Wildcats with 10 kills and six blocks in the contest, while Kiera Booth had nine kills on .350 hitting and Madeline Barber totaled eight kills at a hitting percentage of .389.

Andrea Campos contributed 21 assists and Taryn Whittingham produced 16 digs for VU. Freshman Skylar Gerhardt put up a career-high six kills in her second game, while adding four digs.

NEXT UP: Villanova finishes its stint in California on Saturday evening, taking on the host University of Southern California at 10:30 p.m. ET.