VILLANOVA, Pa. – In its home opener, Villanova volleyball continued its theme of thrilling five-set victories, downing the UMBC Retrievers 3-2 in a five-set back-and-forth affair Friday night (25-21, 18-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-13). The 'Cats rebounded after two straight defeats at the hands of Iowa State and Penn State to secure the home opening win.
Campbell McKinnon set a career high with 20 kills while swinging a highly efficient .429 and adding two service aces to lead the 'Cats attack. Her timely kills down the stretch in the final set propelled Villanova to a statement win. Among other career milestones,
Alyssa Nelson surpassed the 1,500-assist mark, combining with
Selah O'Connor, who also notched a career high with 29 assists to run the offense.
Reagan McGivern (6 blocks) and
Abby Harrell (11 digs) anchored the defense to round out the team's statistical leaders.
The opening frame was a tightly contested battle early on, but Villanova began to gain separation mid-set thanks to a 5-0 run capped off by a McKinnon service ace, a McGivern kill, and a UMBC attack error forcing the visitors into a timeout at 10-5. The Retrievers clawed back within one multiple times down the stretch, eventually knotting the set at 17-17 off a Wildcat bad set. However, VU quickly regained its lead, sparked by a 3-0 run featuring back-to-back kills from
Taylor Lewis and Harrell, followed by a Lewis and McGivern block that prompted UMBC's final timeout of the set at 20-17. The Wildcats held onto the lead from there, securing an opening set victory at 25-21 thanks to Harrell's fifth kill of the frame off a dish from O'Connor.
UMBC responded in the second stanza by jumping out to an early 6-2 advantage following a successful challenge and a string of Wildcat errors. The visitors extended their lead to as many as six points at 12-6, prompting Coach Steinbach to call his first timeout of the evening. Villanova answered out of the break with a 7-1 run highlighted by kills from Harrell, McGivern, Lewis, and
Cat Young, alongside a key point earned via a successful VU challenge to tie the set at 13 apiece and force yet another UMBC timeout. The teams traded blows through the media break, but the visitors reclaimed momentum late with a 3-0 run to build an 18-15 cushion. UMBC pulled away down the stretch and used a successful challenge on the final point to claim the frame 25-18 and level the match.
The third frame featured back-and-forth action early before VU grabbed a 7-4 lead following an attack error by UMBC's Hannah Howard. The Wildcats held onto the early advantage they built until the Retrievers put together a run of their own to take a 15-14 lead right before the media timeout and furthered their cushion to 16-14 coming out of the break. Following an unsuccessful VU challenge, UMBC extended its lead to 20-17 to force a Villanova timeout. McGivern answered out of the timeout to halt the visitor's slide, but back-to-back UMBC points stretched the Retrievers' lead to 22-18. The Wildcats made a late charge using a 3-0 surge capped off by a McKinnon kill and a
Mina Diggs service ace to pull within one at 22-21, forcing a UMBC timeout. Lewis later delivered a clutch kill to keep VU within striking distance at 23-22, but a pair of late service errors sealed the 25-23 victory for UMBC as they took a 2-1 match lead.
The 'Cats came out hot in the fourth, sprinting out to a 5-0 advantage behind a McKinnon service ace and back-to-back blocks from McGivern in combination with
Loren Winn and Harrell, respectively, forcing an early Retriever timeout. The Wildcats kept their foot on the gas and blew the set wide open with a 5-0 run highlighted by three kills from McKinnon to take a 15-7 lead into the media. UMBC made a brief push late in the frame, but VU quickly halted any momentum with a block and a Harrell kill to force the Retrievers' final timeout at 21-13. Villanova comfortably controlled the stretch run, earning set point on a Lewis kill before Young put the finishing touch on a dominant 25-17 set victory to force a deciding fifth set.
The deciding frame was a battle with both sides trading points through seven different ties leading up to an 8-8 tie. Neither team was able to build more than a two-point cushion, but the 'Cats seized the final set's momentum when McKinnon added to her total by dropping a kill, and Harrell followed with another off a
Marikate Ritterbusch set to take a 13-11 lead and prompt a Retriever timeout. The visitors responded coming out of their timeout, tying the set at 13 all. After a Villanova timeout, Isabel Ostvig committed a service error to hand match point to VU. Harrell and McGivern combined one final time on a dramatic match-ending block to cap a thrilling 15-13 set victory and seal the 3-2 match win.
UP NEXT: Villanova returns to Jake Nevin tomorrow in a rematch against the Princeton Tigers, with first serve being set for 7 p.m. EDT.
