VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova volleyball captured its first win of the season with a defeat of the Binghamton Bearcats in a marathon five-setter (28-26, 25-16, 16-25, 21-25, 15-10) on Wednesday night.
The match marked the annual Jam the Jake event, being played in front of a rowdy crowd of over 650 fans at the Jake Nevin Field House.
Three players totaled double-doubles for Villanova (1-2), including a match-high 19 kills and 15 digs from Abby Harrell. Freshman Cat Young totaled the first of her career with 14 kills and 12 digs while Taylor Jakubowski also tallied her first as a Wildcat on 24 assists and 11 ups.
Junior Tara Garvey contributed 12 kills, middle blocker Campbell McKinnon put up 10 terminations including the match winner and Alyssa Nelson both sides with 29 total assists.
"It's great to get a win at home, it was a very cool atmosphere so thanks to all the students that came out," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We have a couple freshmen playing major roles and you saw some sparks of brilliance tonight. Tara had a very good night offensively, she carried us in a few sets when we needed her and Riley Homer had a strong day so it's nice when your experienced kids make that kind of impact."
It was an even first frame with 14 ties, the teams mostly trading points up until 15-15 before the Bearcats took six of the next eight to secure a four-point edge and seemingly wrest control of the period.
VU battled back by rattling off four in a row to knot things at 23-all and staved off a pair of set points following a Binghamton timeout, then a Garvey slam and BU misfire meant a 28-26 home victory in the opening period.
It was all Wildcats in the second, taking a 9-8 edge and never looking back with a .436 hitting percentage and 17 second-set kills powering Villanova to a nine-point victory.
The visitors captured an early advantage in stanza three, going up 10-4 and keeping that momentum en route to a 25-16 win and getting one set closer to even.
The Bearcats maintained that hot streak into the start of the fourth but Villanova evened it out at 10-10. Binghamton strung together a few runs the rest of the way and prompted a VU pause but despite pulling the home side pulling within two, the match went to five.
Frame five saw an early Wildcat edge and the hosts sustained it the rest of the way, breaking a 5-5 tie and not letting up until it was a 15-10 win.
With the victory, Villanova remains undefeated all-time against Binghamton with a 3-0 record in the series.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats welcome three opponents to the Jake Nevin Field House this weekend for the annual Villanova Classic, facing off against Loyola Maryland on Friday, Princeton on Saturday and Old Dominion on Sunday afternoon.
