Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Villanova Wildcats (9-4) swept Penn and defeated La Salle in four sets on Saturday in their last two matches of the Big 5 Challenge at Tom Gola Arena.

Allie Loitz (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista connected on 32 kills between the two matches, hitting 12 against Penn while adding a career-high 20 in the night cap against La Salle.

The Wildcats will host Seton Hall in their BIG EAST opener on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Villanova-3, Penn-0

Three Wildcats tallied 10 kills or more while hitting over .450, as Villanova (8-4) rolled over Penn 25-14, 25-11, 25-22 in three sets on Saturday afternoon at the Tom Gola Arena.

The three-headed attack was led by Allie Loitz (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista) tallying 12 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. The junior outside hitter performed well behind the line as well, supplying six aces to boost the Villanova offense.

Michaela Berendt (Olympia, Wash./Olympia) and Claire Crutchfield added 10 kills apiece, while hitting .625 and .450, respectively.

Villanova hit .394 as a team throughout the match, while only allowing the Quakers to hit .144. Allison Fitzgerald (St. Louis, Mo./ Visitation Academy) led the Wildcat defense 12 digs.

Penn earned the first two points of the first set, but Villanova rallied earn the next five straight points en route to a 12-4 run to take a 12-6 advantage early. The Quakers and Wildcats traded two point runs, with the Wildcats taking an 18-11 lead. Villanova finished the opening frame strong, earning the last four points to take a 1-0 lead, taking the first set 25-14.

Villanova picked up where they left off in set two, continuing the run by earning the first seven points of the stanza. Loitz picked up four service aces in the run, as the Quakers could not counter her serves. Penn fought back to cut the deficit to 10-6, but Villanova would immediately extend the lead to 17-9after kills from Crutchfield, Emma Decker (Chicago, Ill./Nazareth Academy) Loitz, and Darcy Wolf (Allentown, Pa./Central Catholic). Penn earned the next point, but Villanova's 7-1 ended the second set, with the Wildcats easily taking the set at 25-11.

The Quakers did not back down in the third set, tying the match six times and taking the lead twice, but Villanova won the close third set 25-22. Both teams traded points and small runs, until Villanova took a 15-10 lead. Penn earned the longest run of the set at 3-0 with to cut the Wildcat lead to 19-16. Penn cut the lead to just two at 22-20, but a Berendt kill capped the match for Villanova.

Villanova-3, La Salle-1

After dropping the second set, Villanova (9-4) rallied to win the third and fourth set to win its first four set match of the season.

Allie Loitz tallied a career-high 20 kills in the match on 40 attempts, while Claire Crutchfield added 14 to pace the Villanova offense. Amanda Pedersen-Henry hit .350 on the day, contributing nine kills, while Emma Decker distributed dished 45 assists of the 57 kills in the match.

On defense, both Regan Lough (16) Allison Fitzgerald (12), reached double-digits in digs to lead the Villanova defense.

Both teams were even in the first set as the set featured seven ties and 3 lead changes. The Wildcats took an 8-5 lead. The Explorers rallied back to tie the match at nine, and took the lead the next point after a Villanova error. La Salle took a 13-10 lead, but Villanova fought back to tie the match at 15. With the score at 16 to 15 in favor of La Salle, Villanova rallied with a 9-3 run, including the last four points of the set to take a lead in the match.

La Salle and Villanova were tied at five in the second set, but La Salle took would take a 10-7 advantage in the second set. The Explorers improved their lead to 15-11, but Villanova would cut the advantage to 17-15. La Salle regrouped after a timeout and finished the set strong, winning the second frame, 25-21.

The third set featured eight ties and four lead changes, as both teams could not find separation in the score. Crutchfield connected on six kills in the third set to lead Villanova to their second set win of the match. With the match tied at 13, the Wildcats took a three point lead after two kills from Crutchfield and one from Decker. Villanova and La Salle battled the rest of the set, but the three point lead was too much for the Explorer's as Villanova took a 2-1 lead with 25-22 win in set two.

In the final set of the match, Villanova started the match on a 10-6 advantage. The Wildcats extended the lead to 19-9 on a 9-3 run to open up the set. The 10 point lead proved to be too much for a La Salle, comeback, as the Explorer's took the last set 25-19.