MALIBU, CALIF. – Villanova volleyball suffered a defeat to the Pepperdine Waves in four sets (21-25, 25-18, 19-25, 20-25) in their season opener Friday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Campbell McKinnon led the offense for the Wildcats (0-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) with 14 kills on a stellar .579 hitting percentage while adding six blocks.
Alyssa Nelson (22 assists, two service aces, and seven digs) led the 'Cats in other categories.
The two teams went back and forth early in the first set with the score being 15-14 before the first media timeout. A 5-0 run behind the serving of Pepperdine's Ryan Gilhooly put the Waves ahead 22-16. The 'Cats made a late rally in the opening set but the Waves would ultimately take three of the final four points to lock up a 25-21 set win.
Villanova would respond in the second set as the two sides continued to trade blows before a 7-0 scoring run from the 'Cats saw them pull ahead 15-11. VU kept the pressure on late thanks to Nelson's serving to claim the second set 25-18 and tie the match.
The third set remained tight before Pepperdine found separation. With the score tied at 12, the Waves used a 6-2 burst to build an 18-14 cushion. From there, the host team secured seven of the frame's final 10 points to capture a 25-19 win and take a 2-1 match lead.
Pepperdine carried that momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to an early 13-6 lead with two different 3-0 scoring runs. The Wildcats continued to battle in the match's final set, narrowing the gap to five thanks to McKinnon's three kills in four Villanova attacks.
Ava Harris and
Loren Winn would record back-to-back kills for the 'Cats before Pepperdine answered with a match-ending block assist to close out the fourth frame 25-20 and secure the victory.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats continue the Asics Classic tomorrow vs. the Sacramento State Hornets at 5 p.m. EDT.
