Villanova, Pa. – Villanova volleyball fought hard and hung with the No. 12 Marquette Golden Eagles all night, but continued to come up just short in a straight-sets loss.
 
Villanova played Marquette nearly even in the first two sets, falling 25-22 in each set. The Wildcats then made a late push in the third, but it wasn't enough to hold off the defeat and extend the match as they fell 25-19.
 
The Wildcats were led by Mallory Potts with eight kills and Sanaä Barnes with seven. Emma Decker tallied 21 assists and Regan Lough led the defense with 11 digs.
 
Villanova certainly came ready to play and went point-for-point with Marquette in the first set. Clare Delaplane notched back-to-back aces to give the Wildcats a 14-10 lead and bring the crowd at Jake Nevin Field House to its feet. The Wildcats managed to maintain a lead through 18-16, but could not hold on for the remainder of the set, as Marquette stormed back to win it 25-22.
 
The second set was equally exciting, as Nova stayed in striking distance the entire way. Despite never leading in the set, Villanova never trailed by more than three and tied the score five times. After keeping preseason BIG EAST player of the year Allie Barber in check during the first, Marquette's star player came to life in the second and recorded seven kills in the set to propel them to a 2-0 match lead.
 
After two tough wins, it seemed as though Marquette was set to pull away in the third when they went up 4-1 early, but Villanova refused to make it easy for the Golden Eagles. Villanova stayed close early, but later trailed 19-12. Even when the score was 24-16, Villanova managed three more points, truly indicative of the effort shown throughout the match. Ultimately, it wasn't enough as they lost 25-19.
 
Barber showed why she was the preseason BIG EAST player of the year, as she poured in 18 kills while hitting at a .484 clip. Marquette hit .364 as a team while Nova hit only .210.
 
"We played really hard," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "I just wish we would've made one or two more plays in the first and second sets and have been able to get us to extra time, but we didn't get that. Marquette is really ,really good and they're a top 15 team in the country and have some of the best non-conference wins in our league. It's a tough match, but we've got to turn around and get ready for DePaul tomorrow night at 7."
 
Villanova returns to the court tomorrow night to take on the DePaul Blue Demons at 7 p.m. back in Jake Nevin Field House.