CHICAGO – Villanova volleyball dropped a four-set decision to the DePaul Blue Demons (25-17, 23-25, 26-24, 25-14) on Friday night at McGrath-Phillips Arena, moving to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in BIG EAST play.
Campbell McKinnon paced the Wildcats' offense with a team-high 17 kills while adding eight digs, three blocks, and a service ace.
Cat Young (nine kills, eight digs),
Annika Veurink (eight kills),
Alyssa Nelson (32 assists, one ace), and
Mina Diggs (15 digs, one ace) rounded out the statistical leaders for VU.
DePaul seized control right out of the gate in the opening frame, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead and later extending its cushion to 17-10 following a strong run that forced a Villanova timeout. The Blue Demons maintained control down the stretch, pushing their advantage to 20-14 and reaching set point at 24-15. The Wildcats attempted a late comeback with kills from
Reagan McGivern and
Cat Young, but DePaul closed out the first set at 25-17 off of a Villanova service error to take a 1-0 match lead.
The 'Cats flipped the script in the second frame, using early momentum and a massive mid-set surge to take control. Clinging to a tight 10-9 lead, VU exploded on a commanding 10-1 scoring run highlighted by multiple kills from McKinnon, Veurink, and Lewis alongside an
Alyssa Nelson service ace to build a comfortable 20-10 advantage. The Blue Demons refused to go away and mounted a late-set rally trimming the deficit to one at 24-23. The 'Cats weathered the late push as a DePaul service error finally sealed the frame at 25-23, evening the match at one set apiece.
The third set featured intense, back-and-forth action with neither side able to pull away early. Villanova built a 20-16 lead down the stretch behind two DePaul attack errors and a McKinnon service ace. The Blue Demons would respond, leveling the set at 21 all before the teams traded blows in the closing moments of the third. DePaul eventually earned a 24-23 set point. A service error briefly kept Villanova alive, but the hosts captured the final two points on a kill from Kendall Timme and a service ace from Leonor Polezzi to secure a 26-24 set victory and a 2-1 match advantage.
DePaul carried that momentum into the fourth frame, taking advantage of early Wildcat errors to build a commanding 12-5 lead. The Blue Demons remained in the driver's seat in the final set. Despite back-to-back
Cat Young kills that brought the 'Cats within five at 18-13, DePaul quickly reasserted control. DePaul ended the match on a 4-0 scoring run fueled by three consecutive Villanova attack errors to claim the set 25-14 and secure the 3-1 victory.
UP NEXT: Villanova travels to Wisconsin tomorrow night for a showdown with the Marquette Golden Eagles, with first serve being set for 6 p.m. EDT.
