OMAHA, Neb. – The final regular season road trip of the year ended in a defeat for Villanova volleyball, falling in four sets (23-25, 25-16, 19-25, 13-25) to the No. 12 Creighton Bluejays on Friday night.

Despite the match loss, the second set win is the first time since 2019 that the Wildcats have taken a set from the Bluejays and first in Omaha since 2017. It's just the fourth BIG EAST frame dropped by CU all year and tied for the fewest points Creighton has scored in a set all season.

Abby Harrell once again paced Villanova (18-7, 9-5 BIG EAST) with a 16-kill, 11-dig double-double while Marikate Ritterbusch notched a career-high 13 digs.

Campbell McKinnon contributed a team-high in aces and blocks (both three), Ava Harris posted 23 assists to lead the visiting side and Cat Young added eight kills for the 'Cats.

"We played hard in this one," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "Creighton is very good and we held our own tonight, but just couldn't maintain it through the fourth."

The Wildcats were the aggressors to open up the match, establishing a 4-0 then 7-2 lead in the first frame. But the nation's No. 12 team responded in a big way, taking seven straight points to establish a six-score edge. Down at set point, Villanova managed five straight to bring the deficit to just one but the hosts ended it as a 25-23 CU win.

Set two again started out in VU's favor but this time it stayed with the visitors all throughout. Villanova opened the period with 5-1 and 9-4 leads, then expanded to lead by six. Creighton wouldn't come within four the rest of the way as a 4-0 Wildcat run ended the frame as a 25-16 victory. 

The third was even through the first half as it featured seven ties and three lead changes, up until a 16-13 VU edge turned into seven in a row for CU to put the Jays in the driver's seat for a 25-19 win.

For the fourth straight set it was an early Villanova lead as Creighton took the period's first timeout at 9-7. But the Bluejays answered back later with four in a row to take the edge for good, storming their way to a win in the match with a 25-13 victory.

UP NEXT: Villanova returns home next week for the final weekend of regular season play in the BIG EAST, looking to secure a spot in the conference tournament as the 'Cats host Connecticut and Providence in matchups on Friday and Saturday.