MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Villanova volleyball kicked off November with a trip to the Midwest, falling to the Marquette Golden Eagles in straight sets (14-25, 15-25, 15-25) at the Al McGuire Center on Friday night.

Nine players notched a kill for Villanova (13-9, 6-5 BIG EAST), including a team-best eight from Riley Homer with Taylor Lewis adding six. 

Alyssa Nelson led the Wildcats with 16 assists in the match as senior libero Elizabeth Feczko totaled 11 digs and five assists on the evening. 

Marly Smith appeared in two frames for the 'Cats, tallying four kills, an ace, three digs and a block while Tara Garvey added three kills in her first appearance since Oct. 13.

After the squads traded early runs on the way to an 8-all start to the first set, Marquette took seven straight points to wrest control and the Golden Eagles kept that momentum the rest of the period, capturing the opener 25-14.

MU didn't waste any time in the second stanza to begin with an 8-2 edge, the only exceptions being a pair of kills by Homer. Villanova closed it within three, but the Golden Eagles responded en route to a 25-15 win and two set edge.

It was a similar story in the third frame with Marquette getting out to a 12-5 advantage prior to a VU timeout. Villanova struck back with a run of their own to close the deficit, but MU finished the match strong with a 25-15 win for the sweep.