Box Score Villanova, Pa. – Villanova volleyball remained unbeaten through its first two home weekends as they picked up a straight-sets victory for the second consecutive night. This time, the Wildcats downed the Butler Bulldogs 25-23, 25-15, 25-23. Villanova advanced to 12-3 on the season and 3-1 in the BIG EAST and Butler dropped to 5-11, 2-2.
Villanova's 12-3 record is the team's best start since 2010 when they also began 12-3.
Villanova brought a balanced attack with three Wildcats finishing with double digit kills.
Clare Delaplane led with 13,
Mallory Potts added 12, and Sanaä Barnes had 10, picking up her 10
th on the final point of the match.
The match started sloppy with plenty of errors by both sides. That could have been a product of each team playing its second match in as many days, with Butler having faced Georgetown last night and Villanova beating Xavier. The set was tied nearly all the way to 16-16 before Villanova took a lead for good. The 20-17 cushion was enough to get them to the finish line and take the set 25-23. Barnes had the hot hand in the first set with six kills.
It was all Villanova in the second.
Remy Fairchild opened up the set with an ace, and once the Wildcats went up 6-5 they never trailed again. It was Delaplane leading the offense in the second set with seven kills and no errors in the set. Emma decker had her biggest set with 14 assists and a kill.
Villanova closed out the match in the third set, but made Nova Nation sweat a bit in the process. It looked like Villanova was going to put it away quickly thanks to Delaplane serving for seven straight points, including a pair of aces as part of an 8-0 Villanova run. The Wildcats got to match point at 24-18, but Butler rattled off five straight points to make it interesting. Head coach
Josh Steinbach called a timeout and got the ball to Barnes who went cross court to put away the point and the match.
"2-0 is a great home weekend," said head coach
Josh Steinbach. "I really like where we are right now. We're looking forward to Wednesday night at St. John's.
As Coach mentioned, Villanova returns to action for a mid-week clash with St. John's in Queens, NY on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
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