NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Villanova volleyball heads north fresh off a strong home performance, racking up a 3-1 record last week but preparing to take on a challenging field at the Yale Invitational. The 'Cats (3-3) will battle with three teams selected to win their conference in 2024, one matchup on each day of the weekend against Yale, Colgate and Fairfield.

VICTORIOUS AT THE VILLANOVA CLASSIC    
It was a highly successful week at home to follow up a disappointing opening tournament with the Wildcats winning three straight matches at the Jake Nevin Field House. VU outlasted Binghamton for a five-set victory on Wednesday then swept Loyola Maryland and Princeton before running out of gas on Sunday against Old Dominion in a 3-1 loss. The freshman class provided a big spark, most notably middle Campbell McKinnon who totaled 14 blocks and a .403 hitting percentage with 40 kills to pick up a second straight All-Tournament nod. First-year setter Alyssa Nelson also earned All-Tournament after an 86-assist week and both Cat Young and Lola Buck-Taylor picked up their first career starts.

HARRELL HEADLINES     
Villanova's most impactful freshman in over two decades makes her return to the Wildcat roster in 2024 as Abby Harrell seeks to build off a 389-kill season where she finished seventh in the league for kills and points. The outside hitter has led the Wildcat offense so far, tallying a team high in kills (75, 3.41 per set) with 75 more swings than anyone else on the roster. Harrell's right arm was critical to the dominating performance against Princeton, tallying a career high 22 kills on .576 hitting versus the Tigers. This feat marked the highest hitting percentage in a match with 20+ kills in program history as well as the most kills in a three-set match in the BIG EAST this year.

HOMER NEARS A THOUSAND    
One of the critical members of the team since her arrival on campus in 2019, pin hitter Riley Homer returned for her fifth season as one of the key cogs in Villanova's bid to return to the postseason. The Michigan native crossed the 1,000 point threshold against Georgetown on Oct. 11 of last year and needs 75 more terminations this year in order to join the 1K kill club. An All-BIG EAST selection in her true freshman season, the 6-foot-2 hitter led the 'Cats in kills with 354 as a sophomore, played in all 30 matches as a six-rotation player in 2022 and then served as VU's starting right side in 27 matches as a senior before reprising that role through the first six games of her fifth year. 

BREAKING DOWN THE BULLDOGS
- The host Yale Bulldogs enter the weekend with a record of 1-2, falling to Pacific and Charleston in five sets on Friday before a sweep of USC-Upstate Saturday. The reigning Ivy League champions, Yale gathered a 21-4 record last season with an unblemished 14-0 conference mark before falling to Penn State in the opening round of NCAAs.
- Yale returns the Ivy League Player of the Year in senior setter Carly Diehl who leads the team with 116 assists. All-Ivy selection Betsy Goodenow, a sophomore right side, leads the squad with 42 kills and was named to the CofC All-Tournament Team while senior Cara Shultz has a team-best 47 digs and 10 service aces.
- The Bulldogs swept last year's Yale Invitational with defeats of Sacred Heart, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and welcome in a pair of other squads expected to win their conference this season.

CHECKING IN ON COLGATE
- Colgate comes into New Haven with a record of just 1-5, the win over Buffalo and the losses coming against Duke, South Carolina, No. 13 Kansas, Connecticut and Stony Brook.
- The Raiders are three-time reigning Patriot League champions and were voted the unanimous favorite to take the conference again this year. Last season, Colgate fell to Creighton in an NCAA First Round matchup after sweeping the PL Championship.
- Senior outside hitter Abby Shadwick leads the team at 71 kills after being named the Preseason Player of the Year following two first-team all-league selections. Sophomore Lal Akin has doubled her closest teammate with 23 blocks and setter Sydney Jones has a team-high in assists (129) and service aces (seven).

STARING AT THE STAGS
- Fairfield is VU's final opponent at the Yale Invitational with an overall mark of 2-4, going 1-2 in each of the weekends so far after wins over Southeastern Louisiana and Central Connecticut State. The Stags share one common opponent with the 'Cats, suffering a 3-1 defeat to the Binghamton Bearcats who Villanova took down in five sets last Wednesday.
- Like Yale and Colgate, Fairfield is the reigning champion of its conference with a first place prediction this year after a 22-7 overall record in 2023 and 16-2 MAAC mark in the first season under head coach Nancy Somera.
- Reigning first team all-conference outside hitter Allie Elliott was named the MAAC Student-Athlete of the Week after an All-Tournament performance at the Fairfield Invitational, tying for the team lead with 50 overall kills. Senior Mikayla Haut was a unanimous preseason all-conference selection and ranks in the team's top five for kills, digs, blocks and aces so far.

Streaming all weekend will be available with a subscription to ESPN+. Stat links can be found on Yale's Sidearm site for Friday and Saturday but StatBroadcast for Sunday's 2 p.m. contest at Fairfield.

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