Villanova, Pa. – Villanova will host its first BIG EAST matches of the season when Xavier and Butler make trips to Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. The Wildcats face off with the Musketeers Friday at 6 p.m. and meet the Bulldogs Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
The Wildcats are coming off a 1-1 opening weekend in the BIG EAST, dropping the opener at Creighton before picking up a 4-set victory at Providence.  
 
This weekend's opponents played a key role in shaping Villanova's season a year ago, when the Wildcats needed two wins at home, and got them over Xavier and Butler, to close out the regular season and secure a spot in the BIG EAST tournament.
 
"Every week in the BIG EAST is a big weekend, but we've found ourselves playing huge matches against Butler and Xavier," said head coach Josh Steinbach. "We had to win both to get in, and we were here at home and fortunately got it done, but these are always matches that we have to have at the end of the year."
 
Villanova (10-3, 1-1) currently sits in third in the conference after the first weekend of league play, trailing No. 10 Marquette and No. 14 Creighton. Villanova has been led by Emma Decker on offense, as she has orchestrated a balanced attack and the most efficient offense in the BIG EAST, with Villanova hitting a league-leading .279 as a team. Decker is second in the conference at 10.12 assists/set, leading to four players with 85+ kills and separated by just 20 kills.
 
Xavier is 4-8 on the season, and 1-1 in BIG EAST play. The Musketeers won their conference opener 3-2 at DePaul, before losing to Marquette on Wednesday night. Xavier is led on offense by Lauren Hanlon with 116 kills, while Carrigan O'Reilly and Ailsa Watson have split time at setter, each with over 220 assists this season. Villanova is 5-8 all-time against Xavier and split the two meetings last season. The first match last season was an epic one, with Xavier outlasting Villanova in five sets, with every set being decided by the minimum two-points. Each team notched over 110 digs in the contest.
 
Butler sits at 4-10 and 1-1 in the BIG EAST after dropping its opener at Marquette and defeating DePaul on Wednesday night. Butler will also face Georgetown Friday night before travelling to Villanova. The Bulldogs are led by Anna Logan with 152 kills, and Brooke Gregory with 130. Megan Ramseyer has been dishing out the assists this season with 506 of them, while Elizabeth LaBue and Logan have been the strong points on defense with 270 and 190 digs, respectively. Villanova is just 3-10 all time against Butler and split last year's meetings. Villanova won the match in Nevin 3-0.
 
"I think Xavier does some things offensively that are hard to handle so we have to be good defensively," Coach Steinbach said. "Butler is always a challenge because of the way they block the ball. They pass and block as well as anybody in the league and that makes them tough to handle. I think they are very different and it is going to be a challenge to go from one style of play to the next over the weekend."
 
Each match will be streamed on Nova Nation All-Access and available to follow via live stats.
 
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