Sept. 3, 2010
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - In the second annual Big 5 Tournament, the Villanova volleyball team opened with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-23) victory over La Salle on Friday evening at The Palestra. The Wildcats (2-3) combined to hit .265 overall, while holding La Salle to just .058 as a team.
Redshirt sophomore Morgan Petkovich and junior Maggie Mergen led Villanova with 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Petkovich hit a .387 clip, while Mergen tallied a .389 hitting percentage.
Freshman Alyssa Anderson gave out 32 assists in the match, while junior Kim Maroon collected 17 digs.
After trailing 5-3 in the first set, Villanova scored five unanswered points to go up 8-5 as La Salle used its first timeout. The Explorers broke the streak with one point, but Mergen served for seven points to keep the Wildcats in front, 14-6 before La Salle called its final timeout. Freshmen Carly Edwards and Allison Williams combined for a block assist to extend the Wildcats lead to 18-9 and the team stayed in front as a kill from sophomore Krista Andersen gave Villanova set point at 24-12. Mergen connected on the final kill for a 25-12 win. The Wildcats hit a combined .429, while stifling La Salle to a -.133 mark in the set.
In the second frame, the teams stayed close trading points before the Explorers called timeout with Villanova leading 9-8. Holding a 17-15 advantage, the Wildcats scored five unanswered point to extend their lead to 22-15 as La Salle called its final timeout. Petkovich connected on a kill to give Villanova a 25-18 victory and a 2-0 set lead.
The third set was close throughout with both teams trading points back and forth. `Nova used miscues from the Explores and a kill from sophomore CeCe Twitty to go ahead, 17-15 as La Salle called a timeout. An error from the Explorers extended `Nova's lead to 18-15, but La Salle stormed back on a 7-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. The Wildcats held strong tying the score at 23 apiece following block assists from A. Anderson and Mergen. After a timeout from the Explorers, Mergen and K. Andersen posted back-to-back kills to win the set, 25-23 and the match, 3-0.
Villanova will continue the Big 5 tournament on Saturday with matches against Temple at 1:30 p.m. and host Penn at 7:00 p.m.
