Sept. 6, 2011
Box Score | Steinbach Post-Match Interview | Maroon Post-Match Interview
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Not since the 2007 season had the Villanova volleyball team defeated Delaware, but Tuesday night in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse the Wildcats (5-2) accomplished the task besting the Blue Hens 3-1 (27-25, 28-30, 25-20, 29-27) in a total team effort.
Junior Morgan Petkovich and freshman Allie DiBernardo each recorded double-doubles. Petkovich notched 17 kills and had a career-high-tying 21 digs, while DiBernardo dished out a career-best 52 assists and had 15 digs.
Junior Krista Andersen added 16 kills, while senior Maggie Mergen posted 12 kills.
The Wildcats played tough defense as they combined for 103 digs. Senior Kim Maroon led the way with a season-best 36 digs- the second time this season she has posted 30+ digs. Classmate Kara Chatham added 11 digs and sophomore Mariah Henley collected 10.
After trailing in the first set, a kill from junior CeCe Twitty tied the score at 14 and Villanova grabbed a 15-14 lead after Andersen found the floor. Mergen smashed a kill for a 21-19 lead, which forced the Blue Hens to call timeout. Petkovich recorded a kill and a block to keep the set tied at 24 and followed with an ace to take a 25-24 lead. After earning set point on an error from Delaware, Twitty connected for a kill and Villanova won the set, 27-25.
In the second frame, Henley served an ace to put Villanova in front, 7-4, but after two errors from the Wildcats and a kill, Delaware has jumped ahead, 12-10 and the `Cats called timeout. Trailing 21-18, Mergen connected on back-to-back kills and a long volley resulted in a combined block from Mergen and DiBernardo, which tied the score at 21 apiece. The Blue Hens used a timeout after Villanova took a 22-21 lead on a kill from Mergen. DiBernardo and sophomore Allison Williams teamed up for a block which kept the score tied at 24 and the teams traded points back and forth before Delaware took the set after a kill. Maroon was stellar defensively in the set with 14 digs.
Twitty served an ace in the third set as the Wildcats went ahead 7-3. Mergen connected for an ace to extend the lead to 10-5 as Delaware called timeout. Three consecutive errors kept the Wildcats ahead 17-12 and the Blue Hens used their final timeout after Mergen slammed another kill for a 19-13 advantage. Andersen found the floor on a kill for set point at 24-18 and a Delaware error gave Villanova a 25-20 victory.
Two kills from Petkovich gave the Wildcats a 12-9 advantage in the fourth frame and a kill from Andersen extended the lead to 14-11. After Twitty served an ace the score was 18-17 in Villanova's favor, but the Blue Hens tied the set at 19-19 after a kill. Delaware called two quick timeouts after trailing 23-20, but came out of the break strong to tie the set at 23 apiece. Petkovich smashed a kill for match point at 24-23, but the Blue Hens stayed strong to extend the match. An ace from Maroon put the `Cats in position to win yet again, but Delaware connected on a kill to tie at 26. Andersen found the floor for a kill to lead 28-27 and a final kill from Henley sealed the match victory, 29-27.
Villanova will host the annual Villanova Classic beginning Friday, Sept. 9. The Wildcats will face Colgate Friday at 7:30 p.m., Loyola at 1:00 p.m. and TCU at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10.
