Oct. 2, 2004
Box Score
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Sophomore middle blocker Adrian Semrau hit .395 and had a career-high 23 kills, but Villanova (4-8) was dealt a 3-2 setback by tournament host Rutgers (11-4) on Saturday afternoon in the consolation match of the BIG EAST Preseason Challenge. The Wildcats took the first and third games of the match, but the Scarlet Knights took the final two games and won by scores of 26-30, 30-21, 25-30, 30-26, 15-13 in a match that lasted well over two hours at College Avenue Gym.
Semrau represented Villanova on the all-tournament team after averaging better than four kills per game and attacking at a .325 clip for the weekend. In this afternoon's match she surpassed her previous collegiate high of 19 kills, which she had earlier this season against Fairfield.
Junior outside hitter Celine Nguyen added a double-double for the Wildcats with 16 kills and a team-high 13 digs, and the Wildcats notched 10.0 total blocks on the evening. Freshman outside hitter Kacy Sellers and juniors Dana Kabashima and Megan Abbott each recorded four blocks in the match. Freshman setter Stephanie Olsen handed out 51 assists and produced 12 digs for her second double-double of the season. Olsen passed off a total of 90 assists in two matches in the tournament.
After losing in four games to Connecticut in its opening match of the tournament on Friday, the Wildcats came out strong on Saturday and hit .353 in the opening game to gain an advantage over their hosts. After the Scarlet Knights evened the match, Villanova pounded 17 kills in the third game to go ahead 2-1. However, Rutgers made a total of just four attack errors in the final two games, including just one error (.526) in the decisive fifth game.
The weekend's tournament did not count towards the BIG EAST standings, as the conference regular season will begin next weekend. In the championship match of the tournament, Boston College rallied past Connecticut for a 3-2 victory.
Villanova returns to action on Tuesday evening with a road match against the Delaware. The Wildcats open BIG EAST play next weekend with a match on Saturday at Connecticut and on Sunday at Boston College.
