Box Score Washington D.C. – Villanova made quick work of the Georgetown Hoyas in the first match of the home-and-home Friday night in D.C. The Wildcats took the match in straight sets, getting stronger with each one, posting scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-11.
Villanova posted its highest hitting percentage of the season at .387. The wealth was spread pretty evenly, with
Sophia Howling,
Allie Olsonoski and
Mallory Potts all tied with a team-high seven kills.
Villanova got off to a hot start in the opening set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. The Hoyas were fighting back in the set and appeared to have cut the lead to just three, but a timely challenge from Coach Steinbach swung the lead back to five, and the momentum back in favor of the 'Cats. From there, Villanova was able to close out the match 25-19.
The second set was a very similar story to the first. After trailing 3-2, Nova turned it on to go up 8-3 and never looked back. Four Wildcats notched three kills behind
Emma Decker in the second set to lead a balanced attack.
Despite the score, Villanova got off to its slowest start in the third set, and led just 7-6. But when the 'Cats got going they couldn't be stopped.
Sophia Howling sparked the rally with three kills in a row and the rest of the team took notice. The Wildcats hit .500 in the final set and pushed the lead as high as 24-9, before surrendering two late points to end the set and the match 25-11.
"It's great to get a win on the road in the conference and one that we got done quickly with, so I feel pretty good about that," Coach Steinbach said. "The hard part is we have to come back and play somebody at home that we just played two days before that we beat pretty easily. So, we'll have to make sure we're sharp again on Sunday and that is the big challenge."
Emma Decker pushed even closer to the all-time assists record at Villanova by posting 26 assists and is now just eight shy of the record.
The Wildcats will head home to face Georgetown again on Sunday at 5 p.m. That match can be found on Nova Nation all-access.
