Sept. 11, 2009
Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. - In its first home match of the season, the Villanova volleyball team (6-2) pulled out a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-18) sweep over UMBC (2-5) in the Villanova Classic at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse on Friday evening.
Sophomore Maggie Mergen led the Wildcats with eight kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Seniors Elysse Studzinski and Amy Gulyas each posted seven kills. Sophomore Kim Maroon collected 14 digs, while senior Chelsea Graman dished out 17 assists. Freshman Kristina Bither tallied nine digs.
Villanova jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set on serving from Maroon, but fell behind 12-11 after UMBC scored six unanswered points. Consecutive kills from Gulyas put `Nova back in front 14-13 and the Retrievers used a timeout after an attack error put them down 19-15. Two kills from freshman Krista Andersen put the Wildcats up 24-21, and an error from UMBC sealed the 25-22 victory.
Gulyas served four consecutive points, including two aces, to put Villanova up 7-4 in the second frame and force the Retrievers to call timeout. Two kills from Mergen kept the Wildcats in front 18-13 and a kill from Studzinski closed out the set, 25-19.
The Wildcats got on the board first and took a quick 8-3 lead to force UMBC into an early timeout. Bither served an ace and kept VU in front, 15-8. The Retrievers used their final timeout trailing 21-14, and Studzinski and Mergen found the floor for the 23-15 advantage. The Wildcats served for set point at 24-16, but UMBC held them off for three points until a service error sealed the match victory for the `Cats.
Villanova will return to the court on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. against Princeton before taking on George Washington at 7:00 p.m.
