Box Score Oct. 4, 2014 Box Score
Indianapolis, Ind. -In their fourth meeting ever, the Villanova volleyball team (9-11, 2-3 BIG EAST) battled the Butler Bulldogs to wrap up their first on-the-road conference match-ups at the Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, Ind. The Wildcats lost in three sets with scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-20.
Starters for the Wildcats in this evening's match up included: junior libero; Michelle Adams; junior, Emma Pettit; junior, Brittany Rembert; sophomore, Michaela Berendt; freshman, Cara Cunningham and junior Colleen Hickey.
An early service error from the Wildcats and Butler kill may have given the Bulldogs a slight lead but it was an outside kill from Berendt that put Villanova on the board. The bulldogs put up six unanswered point until a kill from Carpenter brought the score 3-11 in the Bulldogs favor.
A Wildcat block and a back-to-back kills from Rembert put some pep back in the Villanova step to put 12-6 on the board. It was however not enough for the Wildcats to pull close enough to take the lead and Butler took the set, 25-18.
In the first set the Wildcats posted an attack percentage of .130 and logged three team blocks.
Though the Bulldogs put the first point on the board, back-to-back blocks from the Wildcats and a service ace from Pettit gave the Wildcats the momentum. Kills from Hickey, Carpenter and Berendt allowed Villanova to jump ahead 7-2 early in the set.
The second set saw a pack of Wildcats who looked more assured and hungry for a win. Bulldog errors and kills from Berendt and Carpenter allowed Villanova to begin to pull away 11-4 over Butler. Seven Butler points remained unanswered by the `Cats however and allowed the Bulldogs to close the point margin to 16-14 mid set.
A Carpenter attack error and a big Bulldog kill finally gave Butler the edge to pull away with seven unanswered points to bring the score to 23-17. Last effort kills was not enough for Villanova and the Bulldogs took the set 25-18.
Back-to-back services aces kicked off the third set for the Wildcats who were able to maintain a small 5-3 lead to start the third set. Wildcat attack errors eventually allowed the Bulldogs to pull ahead 8-6 but a determined Wildcat offense was in no mood to quit. The teams traded points and the lead to remain within two points of one another until the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run to begin to pull away from the Wildcats. Villanova was unable to regain the lead and Butler took the third set with a score of 25-20.
In the overall series, the Bulldogs continue their perfect streak against the Wildcats, having never lost a set in four matches.
The Wildcats will be back in action at the Jake Nevin field house as they take on BIG EAST power houses Georgetown and Creighton, Friday and Saturday respectively. Both of those matches will begin at 7 p.m.
STATS to WATCH
Junior offensive power house Lauren Carpenter is on track to finish her third season as a Wildcat with 1,000 kills, she has exactly 103 more to go until she makes the mark.
