Sept. 28, 2008
Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team got back to its winning ways, earning its first conference victory of the season in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) sweep over West Virginia Sunday afternoon in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse.
Four Wildcats (9-6, 1-1) posted double figure kills in the victory as freshman Maggie Mergen led the way with 13 kills and just one error to hit for a dominating .545 hitting percentage.
Senior Dana Tartazky and juniors Elysse Studzinski and Amy Gulyas each tallied 10 kills in the win and hit a stellar .421, .500 and .429 attack percentage respectively.
Freshman Kim Maroon posted a new career-high with 23 digs as junior Chelsea Graman dished out 36 assists.
"It was good to get a win and bounce back after yesterday," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "The BIG EAST brings a different level of intensity and we want to build on this win for the rest of the conference season."
After a kill from West Virginia in the first set, the Wildcats held a 12-10 lead and jumped to an 18-13 lead following a kill from Gulyas to complete a 6-3 run. Holding a 20-15 lead, Villanova forced the Mountaineers to call timeout after Mergen connected on a kill. As WVU closed the gap to within three points, Villanova regrouped with a timeout, but a kill from Studzinski and a miscue from the Mountaineers gave `Nova the first set victory. Mergen totaled seven kills in the frame.
The Wildcats found themselves trailing, 10-8 in the second set after a kill from WVU, but were able to use an 8-1 run to take the lead at 16-11, after an error from the Mountaineers. A kill from Tartazky put the `Cats up 19-12 and forced West Virginia to use a timeout. WVU scored four consecutive points out of the break, but an error in the final play gave Villanova a 25-18 win.
Villanova jumped out to a quick 10-5 lead in the third frame after senior Whitney Harrington connected on a kill and sent the Mountaineers into a timeout after a kill from Gulyas. With a 12-8 lead following the break, the Wildcats went on a 9-1 run as Gulyas hit another kill to force West Virginia to call its final timeout. The Mountaineers used the break wisely and came back to threaten VU to score five points and close the score to 23-14. A kill from freshman Laurie McNamara sent VU into position to serve for match and though WVU scored four consecutive points, Villanova was able to secure the 25-18 victory on a kill from Studzinski.
The Wildcats had just seven errors in the match and hit a .404 attack percentage while West Virginia hit for just .170.
Villanova is back on the court on Wednesday, Oct. 1 to host Temple in non-conference action. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m.
