Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. -- A strong offensive and defensive team performance led by Claire Crutchfield (Falls Church, Va./Bishop O'Connell) and Allie Loitz (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista) paced the Villanova Wildcats (13-7,4-3 BIG EAST) past the Providence Friars (12-10, 0-6 BIG EAST) (25-18, 25-18, 25-20 on Saturday night at Jake Nevin Field House.

Crutchfield hit .333, the third-straight match where she hit over .300, and connected a team-high 12 kills for the Wildcats. Darcy Wolf (Allentown, Pa. Central Catholic) and Amanda Pedersen-Henry contributed 10 kills and eight kills, respectively. Emma Decker fed the Cats attack with 36 assists, averaging exactly 12 per set.

Loitz led Villanova with 12 digs and totaled five total blocks defensively, while Allie Olsonoski (New Orleans, La./Ben Franklin) blocked six Providence attacks. Allison Fitzgerald (St. Louis, Mo./Visitation Academy) and Regan Lough (Riverside, Calif./ Martin Luther King) combined for 21 digs on the evening.

The offensive and defense dominance showed in the stat column, as the Cats outhit the Friars .327 to .080.

Coach Josh Steinbach was pleased with the total team win.

"We had good offensive balance and when we are able to achieve that, it makes us that much better," explained Steinbach, the 2015 AVCA East Coast Region Coach of the Year.

"Emma did a good job of spreading the ball around to our attackers and they took advantage and put great swings on the ball. Darcy and Claire were on their game tonight."

The opening stanza began even with both team's splitting the first 12 points of the match at 6-6. Villanova took a slight 11-8 advantage and a Wolf kill sparked a 6-3 run to open up the set at 17-11. Following a Friar timeout, the Cats continued their run, this time a 5-2 run gave Villanova a 22-14 advantage. Providence fought back, but could not comeback from the deficit, as the Wildcats took the set 25-18 for a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats offense was clicking in the set, with an impressive .412 attack percentage.

The second frame started evenly just like the first, as the score was tied at 6-6. A 5-0 run featuring kills from Olsonoski and Wolf gave the Wildcats some breathing room at 11-6. Villanova padded their lead with another run immediately following a Providence run and took a commanding 17-9 advantage. With the Cats up eight points at 20-12, the Friars cut the lead to just three after earning five straight points to make the set 20-17. Nova regrouped to win the set 25-18 as kills by Loitz, Decker, and Olsonoski ended Providence's chance at a comeback.

The third set was closest between the BIG EAST schools as the set was tied at six, once again. Neither team could go on a major run, until the Wildcats took a four point lead at 17-13. Providence fought back to cut the lead to just one point at 18-17, 19-18, 20-19 but the Wildcats would not relinquish their lead, as Villanova took five of the last six points to complete the sweep over Providence.

Villanova now owns the all-time series 17-16 over the Friars.

The Wildcats will wrap up the first half of the BIG EAST schedule next weekend, as they travel to Indianapolis and Cincinnati to face Butler and Xavier.