VILLANOVA, Pa. – This weekend marks a homecoming for the Villanova Wildcats (13-10, 6-6 BIG EAST), who come back to Jake Nevin Field House on Friday to kick off five home matches in the final six games of the regular season with matchups against Xavier and DePaul.

BENEFICIAL BIG EAST BOUTS
It's an important series for all three squads this weekend as the BIG EAST schedule winds closer to an end with these teams holding the final three berths in the conference tournament. Villanova currently holds the tiebreaker over both DePaul and Xavier thanks to October wins over each, but a loss this weekend could result in a head-to-head tie and more complex tiebreakers would then come into play. The 'Cats lead St. John's by one game in the conference standings, but fell to the Red Storm in five sets two weeks ago and will need to topple the Johnnies next Wednesday to earn a split. Suffice it to say, the Wildcats will need to stack wins in the final month, all starting Friday against the sub-.500 Musketeers.

OODLES OF OPTIONS    
The Wildcats have been a difficult puzzle to solve for opposing defenses, mostly thanks to the bevy of options at the setters' disposal. So far in 2024, seven players have recorded more than 75 kills including five different hitters. Compare that to last year when only three VU hitters even eclipsed 35 and it's obvious to see how Villanova's depth has aided a plus-.500 mark in the first three quarters of the year. Abby Harrell has been the offense's centerpiece just like last year with 263 kills on over 700 swings, but the addition of first-year Cat Young (2.21 kills per set) as a six-rotation option has taken some of the pressure off the sophomore. Add in the three-player rotation at opposite hitter featuring graduate student Riley Homer, rocket-armed Tara Garvey and physical first-year Taylor Lewis, and the opposition has a tough nut to crack.

MUSING ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier enters the weekend at 9-13, but 7-5 during league games for a current fifth place ranking despite a straight-set loss to Seton Hall the last time out. 
• The Musketeers are middle of the pack in the BIG EAST for nearly every category (fourth in hitting percentage, kills and assists), but lead the league at 17.09 digs per set in conference play.
• Outside hitter Emma Grace ranks in the BIG EAST's top 10 for kills, service aces and digs while reigning Setter of the Week Logan Flaugh puts up more than 11 assists per set. King of Prussia native Margo Kemp is hitting over .400 in conference play for second in the BIG EAST, and weekly honor roll member Lucia Corsaro is fresh off a weekend with over six digs per set.

DISSECTING THE (BLUE) DEMONS

• DePaul owns a 16-8 record overall, 8-4 in conference play after a five-set loss to Georgetown on Sunday afternoon. 
• The Blue Demons are one of the top offenses in the BIG EAST, ranking second in both kills and assists with the third-best mark in hitting percentage. Defensively, DePaul is third in the conference for digs and third in opponent hitting, but second to last in blocks.
• Jill Pressly leads the DPU attack with 397 kills, the only BIG EAST player over four kills per set in BIG EAST play. Libero Rachel Krasowski is the league leader in digs at almost five per frame, two setters have more than 500 helpers this year and Aly Kindelberger is the team leader in both hitting percentage (sixth in the BIG EAST) and blocks.

Both matches will stream on FloSports and feature stats on StatBroadcast with Friday's match moved up to 4:00 p.m. due to a nighttime men's basketball home game and Saturday's at 7:00 p.m. following football's afternoon bout.