Aug. 26, 2011
Box Score | Quotes
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - It was a good start to the 2011 season as the Villanova volleyball team (1-0) earned a 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 18-25, 25-20) victory over Maryland at the Comcast Lady Vols Classic in Knoxville Tenn.
Junior Krista Andersen and senior Maggie Mergen led the Wildcats offense with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Sophomore Allison Williams added eight kills with a .308 clip, while junior CeCe Twitty also smashed eight kills.
Freshman Allie DiBernardo opened her college career starting as Villanova's setter on Friday evening. DiBernardo played well dishing out a match-high 45 assists to her teammates.
Senior Kim Maroon and junior Morgan Petkovich each collected double figure digs as Maroon turned in 25 and Petkovich added 10.
"I thought we came out confident and comfortable for the first match of the season," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We stayed calm throughout each set, played hard and did what we needed to do to get a win."
Leading 8-6 in the first set, Mergen served seven points for the Wildcats, including launching three aces to extend the lead to 14-6. The Terps used their second timeout trailing 20-12 as Andersen served three points. Mergen connected for a kill to set Villanova up for set point and though Maryland extended play for two points, the `Cats closed out the set winning 25-15.
In the second frame the Terps took an 8-4 lead that caused Villanova to use its first timeout. The Wildcats closed the gap to within one point, 20-19 after an attack error from Maryland and took a 23-21 lead after kills from Andersen and Mergen. After Maryland's last timeout the scored a point to close the gap to just one point, 23-22, but Mergen smashed a kill for set point. Williams connected on the set-winning kill to finish 25-23.
The Terps took control of the third set early as they held a 14-7 lead sending Villanova into its first timeout. Attack errors plagued the `Cats in the stanza giving Maryland a 25-28 victory.
Both teams traded points back and forth in the fourth frame, but two aces from Mergen and a kills from Williams put Villanova in front, 10-7. Petkovich and Andersen connected on kills for an 18-14 advantage and Maryland called timeout. Williams and Twitty combined for a block and the Terps followed with an error to give the Wildcats match point, 24-18. Maryland connected on two kills, but Twitty sealed the victory with a kill for a 25-20 victory.
Villanova will continue play in the Lady Vols Classic on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. facing host school Tennessee. The squad will take on Ohio at 5:00 p.m.
