VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova volleyball fought to the end in a nearly-three hour match on Saturday night, suffering their first BIG EAST loss of the year in a five-set defeat (31-29, 20-25, 16-25, 25-23, 14-16) at the hands of the Xavier Musketeers.
Abby Harrell totaled a double-double with 20 kills and a career-high 19 digs to top Villanova (12-3, 3-1 BIG EAST) in both categories as the 'Cats put forth a season-high in kills (73), assists (71) and digs (74).
Taylor Lewis tied a career-best with 16 terminations on the evening and Marly Smith added a banner night with her first ever double-double on a career-high in both kills and digs (both 14).
Alyssa Nelson posted a double-double of her own with 11 digs and a VU-high 30 assists while Campbell McKinnon put up 12 kills and a team-best six blocks.
"That was a really fun match, two high level teams going back and forth made it really exciting in here," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "I'm proud of the way we fought, there's a lot we can take from this to get better."
Villanova steadily worked to build up a 16-9 advantage in the first, but Xavier used a 10-2 run to take back the edge. The Wildcats used a 3-0 stretch to finally draw ahead with a set point at 24-23, and then it was a whirlwind of a finale to the frame with 11 extra points before VU finally strung together three straight to get a 31-29 win and one set advantage.
The Musketeers were the aggressor early in the second and went ahead 12-9, but four in a row for the 'Cats leveled it before the sides started to exchange scores. With X ahead by a few, Villanova took a timeout and grabbed the next four points to level the tally but Xavier took the final six points of the period for a 25-20 win.
It was a hot start to the third for the visitors, who got out to leads of 4-0, 7-1 and 12-3. The Wildcats battled back into it to force a pair of Xavier timeouts, but the Musketeers regained control to end the set at 25-16.
Frame four was another even battle featuring double digit lead changes, and it was Villanova closing out the period on an 8-3 string to capture it 25-23 and extend the match by forcing a fifth.
That decisive stanza saw Xavier grab an 8-5 advantage when the squads switched sides and keep that momentum until match point, but the Wildcats staved off four in a row to require extra points to decide the match. It was the Musketeers grabbing those final two, stacking a pair of scores to emerge victorious in the match with a 16-14 W.
UP NEXT: Villanova splits next week between home and away bouts, visiting Georgetown on Thursday evening before returning to Jake Nevin Field House on Saturday for a bout against now-No. 14 Creighton.
