VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova volleyball came up short on Sunday afternoon against RV Marquette, the 'Cats (11-6, 4-2 BIG EAST) were bested in straight sets (23-25, 20-25, 14-25).

"I thought we played really well in spots, but just could not sustain it. I do not think we reacted ideally in crunch time when they put pressure on us," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We figured out some different things we need to be better at to compete with the top two teams in the league this weekend… We are not quite there just yet and it is still a work in progress, but we like this team a lot and we think we are on the right track."

Campbell McKinnon led the 'Cats in kills with nine. Abby Harrell and Tara Garvey tallied eight and seven to round out the three highest point converters for Villanova.

Harrell also led the match in service aces with three, two occurring on the same rotation during set two.

Taylor Jakubowski and Alyssa Nelson chipped in with double digit assists, 12 and 15 respectively; helping the 'Cats capitalize on many opportunities.

Ozzie Ozonoh added four blocks, leading all players in the match and padding her individual team lead.

In the first stanza, Marquette jumped out to a 10-6 lead until Villanova scored eight of the next 10 points put up on the board. Two of those points were scored on blocks from Ozonoh to put the 'Cats up 13-12, in turn forcing a Golden Eagle timeout, but the Golden Eagles prevailed for a victory in the opener.

The 'Cats were able to keep it close throughout much of the second set that had 14 ties and six lead changes, a majority coming in the back half. Marquette pulled away after VU had kept it close through the 18-point mark.

The same cannot be said for the third stanza as the Golden Eagles took a commanding lead and held it throughout where they went on four point runs three separate times.

UP NEXT: The 'Cats make a trip up to New England next weekend, visiting BIG EAST foes Connecticut on Friday afternoon and Providence Saturday.