VILLANOVA, Pa. – For the first time since 2009, Villanova volleyball is 5-0 to start a season as the Wildcats took down High Point in four sets (25-15, 27-25, 19-25, 25-14) on Sunday to close the Villanova Classic.
Campbell McKinnon was named the Tournament MVP after hitting .580 with 49 kills and 11 blocks on the weekend. Abby Harrell and Cat Young were each selected to the All-Tournament Team for their second honors in as many weeks.
McKinnon and Harrell led the way for Villanova (5-0) against High Point with 17 kills each, McKinnon adding four blocks, a match-high two aces and a career-best .750 hitting percentage while Harrell contributed a double-double with 12 digs.
Young pitched in 13 kills and nine ups on the afternoon and Alyssa Nelson totaled a double-double of 24 assists and 11 digs to help lead the Wildcats to a 5-0 start to 2025.
"It's good to win our home tournament, this is a really good start and I really like our group," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "If we can continue to grow together and fix a few things, we'll be really hard to beat come conference time. We're learning something new every day and I'm hoping we can play well downtown on Wednesday."
The Wildcats used a few long runs to spark strong play in the first, using an early 6-2 string to force a High Point timeout and refusing to relinquish momentum on the way to a 25-15 win.
It was a much more even second frame as just one point separated the sides at the media timeout. Villanova generated some distance to lead by as many as four but High Point staved off a quartet of set points and tied the period at both 24 and 25-all, just for the 'Cats to get two straight scores for a 27-25 set win.
The Panthers used a 7-0 run to wrest control of the third and stormed their way to a 25-19 victory, extending the match into a fourth frame.
VU began that fourth stanza in a good way with a 7-3 advantage to force an HPU pause then managed to rapidly expand the edge shortly thereafter, storming to a 25-14 victory, a four-set takedown of the visitors and a sweep of the Villanova Classic.
Villanova extends its all-time lead over the Panthers with the win, advancing to 3-1 historically versus High Point.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats will stay local for their midweek match, heading into Philadelphia on Wednesday to take on Temple at 4 p.m. before a weekend in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Old Dominion Invitational.
