Box Score

SEATTLE, Wash. - The Villanova volleyball team suffered their second loss of the season against #5 Washington tonight by a score of 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-19) in their first match at the Seattle Invite.

The Wildcats (2-2) have had both of their losses come against AVCA ranked opponents, while the Huskies (5-0) remained perfect early on this season.

Senior outside hitter Claire Crutchfield (Falls Church, Va. Bishop O'Connell), junior outside hitter Allie Loitz (Bonita Calif./Bonita Vista) and sophomore middle blocker Amanda Pedersen-Henry (Murrieta Calif./Visitation Academy each had 8 kills on the day to make up 24 of the Wildcats' 32 kills on the day.

The Huskies were led on offense by Courtney Schwan and Tia Scambray, who both had double-figures in kills and hit above .500 in the match.

Villanova clawed back from deficits in each set to make the match competitive, but ultimately could not take a set from 2015 Pac-12 Conference runner-ups.

Washington took seven of the first ten points to start the first set of the match, however the Wildcats did not back down against the highly-ranked Huskies. Villanova would tie the set at 13 after a 10-6 run featuring two kills from the Crutchfield and Remy Fairchild (Southlake, Texas/Southlake Carroll Senior), along with an ace by Loitz.

The Huskies responded with a 3-0 run to force a Villanova timeout with the score at 16-13. After the stoppage, Washington expanded its lead to 20-15, but once again Villanova would rally to cut the lead to 22-20 after several Husky errors and a kill from Pedersen-Henry. Washington would finish the set on a 3-0 run to take the first set 25-20.

Crutchfield set the pace for the Villanova offense in set one with four kills on seven attempts and just one error for a .429 attack percentage.

The second set started nearly even between the two teams, splitting the first 10 points four to six for a minimal Husky lead. The Huskies would go on a pivotal 12-6 run to expand the lead to eight with the score at 18-10. Villanova could not rally back from the deficit as Washington would take the second set 25-19. Loitz had her strongest set of the match, tallying six of her eight kills in set two.

The Huskies sprinted out of the gate on an 8-2 run to start set three. Villanova would cut the lead to four at 16-10 after a balanced attack with kills from Loitz, Michaela Berendt (Olympia, Wash. Olympia), Crutchfield, and Pedersen-Henry. The Wildcats attempted a late comeback to make the Washington crowd nervous, but the Huskies finished what they started and to take set three, 25-19.

The Wildcats will travel across town tomorrow to play Idaho in the second match of the Seattle Invite. The match is slated to start at 4 p.m. EST. at Seattle University's newly renovated Connolly Complex.