VILLANOVA, Pa. – The regular season came to a close with a bang at Jake Nevin Field House on Saturday afternoon as Villanova volleyball swept Providence in straight sets (25-17, 25-19, 25-20) in front of nearly 600 fans on Grad Day.
The Wildcats honored graduate students Ava Mehrten and Emma Vu in a ceremony before the match, recognizing both for their contributions at VU this season.
It's the first time since 2019 and the 17th season overall (of 52 total in VU history) that the Wildcats have achieved 20 or more wins. Villanova also got itself to a .741 winning percentage for the regular season, the best mark in exactly 15 years (.767 in 2010) and just the fourth time under head coach Josh Steinbach that the 'Cats have been above .700.
Taylor Lewis led the match with 11 kills on .478 hitting for Villanova (20-7, 11-5 BIG EAST) while Vu contributed her first double-double as a Wildcat with 19 assists and a team-best 10 digs and Abby Harrell added nine each of terminations and digs.
Campbell McKinnon posted eight kills on an error-free night in addition to a match-high six blocks as fellow middle Reagan McGivern put up seven kills on .462 hitting for the 'Cats.
As a team, Villanova recorded double-digit blocks for the 10th time this year and tied their season-high for digs in a three-set match (48).
"A 2-0 weekend to end the regular season is great and winning 20 matches in a season is a big deal," Steinbach said. "Our graduates played well in this one, Emma set a good match and Ava's been good for us all year long. We're really happy to have those two and glad we could celebrate them today."
The match began with Wildcat leads early and often, going up 3-0 then 10-3 in the first. Providence fought back to close the gap to a pair, but the 'Cats took five straight to wrest control and cruised to a 25-17 victory.
PC opened the second with a small advantage but Villanova strung points together to answer back and eventually lead by five. The Friars evened it at 17 apiece, but a five-point Marly Smith service run gave the 'Cats some cushion and they finished the frame as a 25-19 win.
Set three started with four Providence points and yet again VU responded with strong stretches of its own, taking six in a row at one point to grow the lead to five. The Friars answered with four straight to lessen the deficit to one, but Villanova brought it home with a 25-20 win to pull out a sweep.
The all-time series tilts even further in VU's direction, now owning a double-digit lead over Providence historically with a 31-21 edge. Villanova has now won five in a row and eight of the last nine against PC.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats will head to Milwaukee next weekend for the BIG EAST Tournament as the event's three seed, taking part in one of the two semifinals at the Al McGuire Center on Saturday, November 22.
