OMAHA, Neb. – The Villanova women's volleyball team fell to the No. 9 Creighton Bluejays 0-3 in the semi-finals of the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep.
Head coach Josh Steinbach, "I'm proud of the way the team battled. They played hard in every point every match all year long. Looking forward to group we have returning next year. I think the future is bright."
Senior middle blocker Amanda Pedersen-Henry led the Wildcats with eight kills. Sophomore outside hitter Mallory Potts had seven kills. She also added four digs and four blocks.
Junior setter Emma Decker dished out 25 assists and had six digs. Junior libero Regan Lough had 14 digs and one assist.
Villanova won the opening point of the match but the Bluejays responded with a 3-0 scoring run. After the Wildcats ended the scoring run the Bluejays had two more 3-0 scoring runs to make it 9-4. After a kill by Allie Olsonoski, the Wildcats trailed 7-14. Creighton won the next two points and the Wildcats called timeout. Coming out of the timeout Villanova won five of the next six points to make it a five point match at 12-17. But Creighton responded by scoring five of the next six points to increase their lead to 13-22. The Bluejays would go on to win the first set 25-17.
Creighton jumped out to an early lead and after a kill by Olsonoski the Wildcats trailed 2-8. The Wildcats slowly cut back into the Bluejays' lead to make it 5-13. Villanova called timeout and the Wildcats came out of the timeout and went on a 5-0 scoring run to make it 10-13. The teams would then trade the next few points to make it 12-16 Creighton. The Bluejays then went on a 3-0 scoring run to extend their lead to 12-19. The closest the Wildcats would get again would be six points as Creighton won the second set 25-17.
Villanova led 2-1 to begin the third set after a back to back kills by Mallory Potts. The Bluejays then went on a 4-0 run to retake the lead. With the Wildcats trailing 6-9, they went on a 4-0 scoring run to retake the lead. With the score tied at 12, Creighton went on a 3-0 scoring run. Coming out of the media timeout, the Wildcats cut it to 14-15 after a kill and service ace by Pedersen-Henry. Once again the Bluejays used a 3-0 run to extend their lead to 15-19. After a kill by Olsonoski the Wildcats would cut it to 18-21 but that would be the closest they'd get as Creighton won the third set 19-25.
The Wildcats finished the season 17-14 and it was the third time in four years that they have qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament.
