Box Score

CINCINATTI, OHIO - The Villanova Wildcats (14-8, 5-4 BIG EAST) dropped the first set against the Xavier Musketeers (11-11, 5-4 BIG EAST), but rallied to win the next three frames of the BIG EAST Conference match to win the match 22-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-23.

In a match that featured 34 ties and 12 lead changes in four sets, every set was very competitive. Villanova outhit Xavier .267 to .227 in the four sets.

Allie Loitz (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista) connected on 22 kills on .354 hitting, while Claire Crutchfield (Falls Church, Va./Bishop O'Connell) tallied 17 kills for the Wildcats. Amanda Pedersen-Henry (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta) added 13 kills, while Darcy Wolf (Allentown, Pa./Central Catholic) had nine.

The strong offensive performance could not have happened without freshman setter Emma Decker (LaGrange, Ill./Nazareth Academy), who dished out 49 assists against the Musketeers.

Regan Lough (Riverside, Calif./Martin Luther King) and Allison Fitzgerald (St. Louis, Mo./Visitation Academy) led the Villanova defense yet again, with 27 and 17 kills respectively.

Coach Josh Steinbach was happy with the team's performance in their first win of the road trip.

"It's a big win for us," noted Steinbach. "We haven't been great at closing out sets and matches, but we were tonight."

"I hope that's a sign of things to come".

Xavier took an early 4-1 lead to start the match, but Villanova cut the lead to one at 5-4. Villanova came back to tie the match at 10 points apiece, but the Musketeers rallied for fourth straight points to force a Villanova timeout at 14-10. Xavier kept the four point lead at 17-13, but the Wildcats stormed back to tie the match at 17-17. Villanova would knot the match again at 18-18 and 19-19, but Xavier held its lead, as the Musketeers took the close first set 25-23.

Villanova regrouped after the short intermission, jumping to a 4-1 out of the gates of the second set. Xavier responded with a 4-1 run of their own, tying the game at 5-5. The Musketeers took their first lead of the set at 10-9 and the two teams battled back and forth trading points. No team would take a significant lead until the Xavier took a three-point advantage at 19-16. After a Villanova timeout, the Wildcats tied the match at 20-20 and would take a slight 23-21 advantage. The Musketeers would fight off two Villanova set points, tying the set at 24-24. Both teams fought to extend the match further, as the Wildcats earned the last two points of the set with a Decker ace and a Musketeer attack error gave Villanova the set 28-26 to tie the match at 1-1.

There were 10 ties alone in the third stanza, as neither team could gain an advantage to start the third frame. With the score tied at 18-18, kills from Loitz, Decker, and Allie Olsonoski (New Orleans, La. Ben Franklin) gave the Wildcats a 23-18 lead. After a Xavier timeout, Villanova took the set 25-21 after two Musketeer errors and Villanova took a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Wildcats kept the momentum early in the fourth set, taking a 6-2 lead early. Xavier would cut the lead to 11-9 but Villanova would keep its lead for the time being at 15-13. Xavier would tie the match late at 20-20, 21-21, 22-22, and would take the lead at 23-22, but a Villanova timeout sparked a Musketeer error and a Decker kill gave the Wildcats their fifth BIG EAST victory of the season.

Villanova will play their final match of their three-match road trip at the nation's capital against the Georgetown Hoyas. The Wildcats will look to avenge a loss against the Hoyas earlier this season.