Final Stats

OMAHA, Neb. - The Villanova volleyball team advanced to the BIG EAST Championship match with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-17 straight set win over Xavier on Friday night's semifinal match in Omaha.

The Wildcats (25-7 overall) will take on host team and No. 1 seed Creighton tomorrow (November 28) at 1:00pm CT/2:00pm ET.

"That's as clean of a match as we've played all year," said Villanova head coach Josh Steinbach. "We served the ball so well tonight, we handled the ball really, really well and Xavier didn;t get many good chances because we were serving so tough."

Villanova's offense was led by Amanda Pedersen-Henry (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta High) with 13 kills and a .476 hitting percentage. Claire Crutchfield (Falls Church, Va./Bishop O'Connell) was also in double figures with 10 kills.

Gabby Pethokoukis (Western Springs, Ill./Benet Academy) and Allie Loitz (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista) tallied eight kills each while Lauren Carpenter (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood) pitched in with seven kills.

Villanova served the ball near perfection as the Wildcats racked up eight service aces without a service error. The California combination led the way with Loitz having four aces and Pedersen-Henry adding two of her own.

Emma Pettit (Ft. Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) played her usual great game at the setter position with 39 assists including a backwards, cross court, bump set that resulted in a Carpenter kill.

The Villanova defense was led by 11 digs from Allison Fitzgerald (St. Louis, Mo./Visitation Academy) and four blocks by Pethokoukis.

Xavier's (18-12 overall) BIG EAST Player of the Year Abbey Bessler was held to 13 kills on 37 attempts while hitting .189 in the match.

Villanova scored the first two points of the match but a 5-1 Xavier run gave the Musketeers a 5-3 lead early in the first set. The Wildcats tied the score at 6-6 and took the lead 9-6 with a three point push.

Xavier tied the score again at 12-12 and eventually led 17-15, leading to a Villanova timeout. The Wildcats responded out of the break with a 5-0 run, including a pair of kills from both Pedersen-Henry and Crutchfield. Loitz and Pethokoukis got a block to end the set and give Villanova a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Wildcats jumped ahead 4-1 in the second set but Xavier battled back to tie the set at 9-9 and take the lead with the next point. After falling behind, Villanova put together a 5-0 run with a pair of kills from Carpenter.

Carpenter also helped the 'Cats with a pair of kills for points 23 and 24 before Pedersen-Henry sealed the set win with her ninth kill of the match.

The third set was tied 2-2 until a pair of Loitz service aces spurred a 5-0 Wildcat run. Xavier cut the lead to 8-6 with a three straight points but Villanova's 3-0 run stretched the lead back to 12-7.

Villanova led 19-17 late in the third and ended the match on a 6-0 spurt. Pedersen-Henry recorded both of her service aces during the run then Pethokoukis combined with Crutchfield for a stuff block for the final point.

The Villanova volleyball team will play Creighton tomorrow for their first BIG EAST Championship and automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament.

"We've got to do some of the same things we did tonight," continued Steinbach. "Creighton is really good so we're going to need to serve well, pass well and keep our offense balanced to make it tough on them."

Short Box Score (Match) 2015 Villanova Volleyball Xavier vs Villanova (Nov 27, 2015 at Omaha, Neb.)

Villanova def. Xavier 25-20,25-19,25-17

Xavier (18-12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - BESSLER, Abbey 13-2-2; MASSA, Kristen 5-0-1; BETTS, Brooke 5-1-1; AGIN, Makayla 4-0-1; FRILLING, Lauren 4-0-3; HUMM, Mackenzi 3-1-0; GROSSMAN, Laura 3-0-0; PETERSON, Sofia 2-0-0; ESTES, McKena 0-1-0; Totals 39-5-4.0. (Assists) - ESTES, McKena 19; HUMM, Mackenzi 15. (Dig leaders) - FOTI, Samantha 10; BESSLER, Abbey 7

Villanova (25-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - PEDERSEN-HENRY, A. 13-2-2; Crutchfield, Claire 10-0-1; Loitz, Allie 8-4-2; Pethokoukis, Gabby 8-0-4; Carpenter, Lauren 7-0-2; Pettit, Emma 2-1-0; Knight, Ashley 0-1-0; Totals 48-8-6.0. (Assists) - Pettit, Emma 39. (Dig leaders) - Fitzgerald, Allison 11; Carpenter, Lauren 8

Site: Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) Date: Nov 27, 2015 Attend: 1221 Time: 1:20 Referees: Kathy Ferraraccio, Bill Stanley BIG EAST Volleyball Championship semifinal. Villanova is #2 seed; Xavier is #3 seed.