VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Villanova volleyball (16-12 overall, 7-9 BIG EAST) will fight for its postseason life in the final road trip of the year, visiting the Providence Friars and Connecticut Huskies this weekend to close out the regular season.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP CHANCES    

It's down to just two empty spots for the BIG EAST Tournament in Milwaukee, as the Xavier Musketeers clinched a seed last weekend to round out the top four. At the moment, DePaul and Seton Hall fill the open slots each with an 8-8 record, but DPU and SHU square off in a crucial bout on Friday evening. Then Saturday, the Pirates visit first-place Marquette and DePaul takes on three-seed St. John's, while VU has the last place teams on the docket. For the Wildcats, it's relatively simple: if Seton Hall goes 0-2 in the final weekend, Villanova needs one win. If DePaul is 0-2, Villanova needs two Ws. But if both of those squads take home a 1-1 record, the Wildcat season will likely come to a close barring unforeseen scenarios. A complicating factor is Butler's Wednesday victory over fourth-place Xavier, which brings the Bulldogs into the fray at 7-10 but in need of a win over No. 15 Creighton and an 0-2 weekend from the other three for any chance.

SERIES HISTORY    

Two of the more often-seen opponents in Villanova volleyball history are on the ledger this weekend, with Providence and Connecticut combining for 83 all-time contests. VU owns a significant margin over the Huskies with 23 wins in 36 bouts historically. UConn has closed the gap in recent years, owning a five-match win streak prior to this year. Besides a string of UConn victories from 1999-2004, it's been a lot of VU Ws. The Providence series is much more competitive, with Villanova leading 26-21 all-time. From 2014-19, the Wildcats lost just once, but PC now has four wins in the last 10.

HARRELL'S HAMMER    

Despite it being her debut campaign at the collegiate level, freshman outside hitter Abby Harrell has stepped right into the Wildcat lineup and been the program's most impactful player. In her first year on the Main Line, Harrell has showcased her deadly right arm by tallying a team-high 351 kills, which is over 70 better than the next closest player while taking nearly 1000 swings. The freshman phenom ranks fourth in the conference for points, service aces and total kills while placing sixth in kills per set. She's now made six appearances on the BIG EAST weekly awards, winning four Freshman of the Week nods in just the month of October.

ANDREA THE ASSISTER    

Senior setter Andrea Campos has put forth one of the best setting seasons for the Wildcats since 2015, racking up north of 1,000 assists on the year to average 9.86 per frame. Her mark of 1,045 total assists is good for second in the conference and 30th nationally this year, while her helpers per set rank is third in the BIG EAST. Campos has spread the ball around to the tune of four 200-kill attackers, three of them above 250. In addition to that, she's totaled north of 220 digs, 25 blocks and a third-best tally of 35 service aces while quarterbacking the Villanova offense full-time as the lone setter in a 5-1 rotation.

FOLLOWING THE FRIARS    

• Providence has been the better of the BIG EAST's New England teams in terms of overall record, owning an 8-20 mark despite a 10-match losing streak and just two conference victories. Those wins were back-to-back, sweeping the Mid-Atlantic trip to Georgetown and Villanova in early October.
• Setter Miller McDonald is the lone Friar to appear anywhere on the top-10 lists, ranking 10th for assists at 7.29 per set. Kayla Grant leads her side with 100 blocks on the year, while Shaliyah Rhoden has managed 311 kills this season. Freshman defensive specialist Savannah Ivie has been a bright spot with a team-best 261 digs. 
• As a unit, Providence's top area has been blocks, where they average 2.16 per set to sit fourth in the conference, but every other team rank is 10th or 11th outside of service aces, which is just ahead of those at ninth.

UNDERSTANDING UCONN    

• It's been a difficult season for the squad picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, as Connecticut sits at just 7-21 on the year with only a pair of conference wins over Butler and Providence. The Huskies ride a seven-match losing streak into this weekend, on pace for their first single-digit win season since 2010.
• Emma Werkmeister leads the squad with 311 kills, ranking sixth in the BIG EAST for terminations and seventh for points. Doga Kutlu averages 8.43 assists per set for seventh in the conference and is one of two non-liberos on the digs top-10 list, averaging 3.46 for 10th in the league. Karly Berkland has put up north of four digs per set in conference matches, and Grace Maria adds 20 service aces in BIG EAST play. 
• As a team, Connecticut's best areas have been digs and service aces, where they rank sixth in the conference for per set average.

Streaming for both contests will be available on FloSports and stat links are on Providence's Sidearm site for Friday and StatBroadcast Saturday, with both matchups set for 6 p.m. start times in New England.