DAYTON, Ohio – The Villanova volleyball team played in its second five-set match of the day on Friday evening, this time falling to the Dayton Flyers (19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 11-15) at the Frericks Center in Ohio.

"We played really hard tonight, we just haven't been able to finish lately," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "The good thing is, we are back at it tomorrow with not a lot of time to worry about this one."

Rose Crist once again led Villanova (3-5) with 15 kills, while Kathleen Johnson contributed a season-high 10 kills.

Middle blocker Kiera Booth was impressive again, putting up four blocks and 10 kills on a .474 hitting percentage. Belle Morgan added a match-high 39 assists for the Wildcats and libero Elizabeth Feczko tallied 15 digs.

The beginning of the match was tight, as the teams were deadlocked at 6-6 in the first frame. But Dayton went on an early run, securing its largest lead to that point at 16-11 and winning the set 25-19 despite six Flyers service errors.

Villanova hopped out to a quick advantage in the second period, going up 3-0. The rest of the set featured 12 ties and eight lead changes, but the 'Cats secured a lead and picked up a 25-23 victory.

UD came out of the locker room firing to start the third, taking a 10-3 lead. Despite a mid-set 3-0 Wildcats run, the Flyers stormed their way to a 25-18 win in the frame.

The fourth set was a battle, as neither team could establish a lead of more than four points. The 'Cats went up 16-12, but Dayton rattled off five straight to retake the advantage. The squads kept going back-and-forth up until Villanova finished the stanza on a 6-2 run to take the set.

In the decisive fifth frame, the teams were deadlocked at 6-6 before the Flyers went on a 4-1 run to go up three. After a VU timeout, the Wildcats took three straight points to make the score 12-11. But Dayton captured the final three points of the match and picked up a 3-2 victory.

UP NEXT: Villanova will play its final match of the weekend on Saturday morning, taking on the No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini at 11 a.m. ET.