VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova volleyball suffered a setback on Friday night, falling to the DePaul Blue Demons in four sets (25-20, 15-25, 19-25, 23-25) at Jake Nevin Field House.

Abby Harrell (16 digs and match-best 14 kills) and Alyssa Nelson (20 assists, 10 digs and two aces) each contributed double-doubles to lead the way for Villanova (15-5, 6-3 BIG EAST). 

Reagan McGivern posted a career-best 10 kills on the evening with a match-high .350 hitting, adding a team-high four blocks for the 'Cats. 

Cat Young put up 14 digs for VU, Ava Harris added 17 assists and Campbell McKinnon (eight) and Taylor Lewis (seven) were each productive in the kill column.

The opening set saw the usual exchanging of short runs up through 16-all, at which point five straight scores gave Villanova an edge that it kept for a 25-20 victory.

DePaul used a 3-0 start to get a lead straight away in the second and expanded that advantage steadily on the way to a 25-15 win and an even match.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-2 advantage to begin the third and forced an early DPU break, but the Blue Demons re-grouped and at one point took eight of nine to get a five-score lead and stormed to both a 25-19 win and a lead of the match.

VU grabbed the first four points of the fourth to prompt a DePaul pause and kept the momentum through the halfway point of the period, up until DPU strung together seven of nine to knot it at 20 apiece. The Blue Demons were able to take four of the final five scores, ending the match in four frames with a 25-23 victory.

UP NEXT: The 'Cats will round out the week with a matchup on Saturday night, taking on Marquette at 7 p.m. from the Jake Nevin Field House to cap off VU's Homecoming Weekend.