VILLANOVA, Pa. – The regular season comes to a close this weekend for BIG EAST volleyball and a league playoff spot is still up for grabs as Villanova hosts a pair of matches at the Jake Nevin Field House on November 14-15.

The Wildcats (18-7, 9-5 BIG EAST) begin the weekend with a critical Friday evening bout against Connecticut then finish out the schedule with a Saturday afternoon affair opposite Providence.

WIN AND WE'RE IN    
The postseason scenarios are simple for Villanova this weekend: win one of the two matches and you're into the BIG EAST Tournament. A victory on either Friday or Saturday means VU will head to Milwaukee the following week for the league playoffs while two wins might just ensure the 'Cats a berth in this year's NCAA Tournament. A pair of VU losses combined with a UConn win at Georgetown on Saturday would mean it's down to tiebreakers for the last spot, but Villanova could avoid all that by just emerging victorious in either bout. Three other teams have all clinched berths in the league postseason as Creighton and Xavier are locked into some combination of the first two spots while Marquette's going to come out on top of UConn in any tiebreakers for a seed regardless of final weekend results. Regardless, Villanova controls its own destiny to keep the season going, and that's all that they can ask for.

HEAR ABOUT HARRELL    
A two-time All-BIG EAST selection is somehow on pace for her best season yet in 2025 as outside hitter Abby Harrell is undoubtedly the main attraction on a high-level Wildcats unit. The Washington native is averaging a career-best 3.85 kills and 2.91 digs per set this year in addition to 39 aces (ties a career-high from 2023) and a .257 hitting percentage despite nearly doubling the next-highest Wildcat in total attacks. The lone junior to regularly contribute to the 'Cats, Harrell has double-digit kills in all but two matches this year in addition to 16 double-doubles and a rank in the nation's top 60 for points, kills and aces.

FAMILIAR FOES    
The final week of the regular season brings the two New Englanders down to the Main Line as Villanova welcomes Connecticut and Providence to the Jake Nevin Field House this weekend. The Wildcats took both of these opponents down in four sets in a mid-October road trip with Harrell posting 18 kills against PC to reach the 1,000 career benchmark, then VU got its first victory at the home of the Huskies since 2010 after a then-team season high in blocks (15) and 20 kills from Harrell in just four sets to win OPOTW that week.

CHECKING IN ON CONNECTICUT

• The Huskies come to the Main Line with an 18-8 record, exactly .500 in conference play with seven wins and losses. 
• UConn is led by one of the BIG EAST's top players in Emma Werkmeister who's first in the league for aces and third for kills while Doga Kutlu averages more than nine assists per set (second in BE) and McKenna Brand has nearly 350 digs.
• Connecticut's home loss to Xavier last Saturday means the Huskies will need a pair of wins and some help to reach the BIG EAST Tournament as they're two wins behind both Villanova and Marquette in the standings.

FEELING OUT THE FRIARS

• Providence enters the week at 12-15 overall with just three conference wins, though two of those have come in the last two weekends (Seton Hall and Butler).
• The Friars have two of the league's top blockers in Lyric Berry (first) and Kaia Easterbrook (seventh), Hadley Pride adds over five digs per set to pace the conference and Sophia Adkins is sixth in kills and points.
• PC trails Villanova in the all-time series with the 'Cats owning a 30-21 advantage after wins in the last four matches vs. the Friars.

Both matchups will feature statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast and streaming will be available on ESPN+.