VILLANOVA, Pa. – A top 25 team makes its way to the Jake Nevin Field House to round out this week's BIG EAST slate as Villanova volleyball welcomes No. 13 Creighton to the Main Line.

Villanova (13-3, 4-1 BIG EAST) hosts the Bluejays at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening, looking to grab an upset win for the best start in program history.

DUB IN D.C.
It was a successful trip to our nation's capital for the Wildcats on Thursday evening as VU emerged with a four-set victory at Georgetown to claim sole possession of second place in the BIG EAST for the time being. The 'Cats got a season-high 12 kills on .455 hitting from Ava Mehrten while Abby Harrell (match-high 20 kills and 13 digs), Ava Harris (24 assists, 10 digs) and Alyssa Nelson all pitched in with double-doubles for Villanova. VU was able to outlast the Hoyas in extra points to capture the opener then fell 33-31 in the second for an even match, but Villanova dominated the third and did what was necessary in the fourth to leave McDonough Arena with an important victory.

MILESTONE WATCH
A trio of Wildcats are within striking distance of major career milestones, all of which could reasonably be reached against Creighton. Nelson is just three assists away from notching 1,000 for her career despite only being a sophomore and playing just half the rotations in the 6-2 offense. Harrell owns 985 total kills as a collegian, sitting only 15 away from becoming the 21st Wildcat ever to join the 1K kill club. Head coach Josh Steinbach now maintains a win total of 299 in his 19th season at Villanova and with a win would become the 74th active Division I head coach to reach 300. And a fun fact about this matchup, of Creighton's 20 opponents this season, Steinbach is one of just three head coaches who's beaten the Bluejays three or more times at their current school. 

BREAKING DOWN THE BLUEJAYS

• Creighton is undefeated in BIG EAST play with an 11-5 overall record, the only overall defeats coming against No. 2 Penn State, No. 5 Texas, No. 22 USC, No. 4 Louisville and No. 1 Nebraska.
• The Bluejays have the league's assists leader in Cal transfer Annalea Maeder as Ava Martin ranks second in the conference for kills (232, over four per set) and fifth for service aces and Kiara Reinhardt is second among BIG EAST players in both hitting percentage and blocks.
• CU is the nation's No. 13 team this week with the eighth best ranking in the RPI, owning a 19-match lead over Villanova all-time. The Wildcats have three wins over the Jays historically, all coming on the Main Line in the Steinbach era and the most recent being a 2019 sweep.

The matchup will feature stats courtesy of StatBroadcast and streaming available on ESPN+.