Villanova, Pa. – Villanova volleyball is set for the last weekend of the regular season having already clinched its spot in the BIG EAST Tournament. Despite being in, there is still a lot to play for in the matches against Seton Hall on Friday and St. John's at home for senior day on Sunday.
The Wildcats are coming off an 0-2 weekend at DePaul and Marquette, and will be looking to get back on track ahead of the postseason. Villanova's offense remains balanced with
Mallory Potts,
Allie Olsonoski and Sanaa Barnes all having notched over 200 kills this season.
Emma Decker is second in the conference at 10.19 assists/set and Lough is second as well with 4.80 digs/set.
Villanova travels to Orange Hill, NJ for a matchup with Seton Hall on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Pirates are 7-23 and 2-14 in BIG EAST play. Villanova picked up a four-set win in the first meeting on Oct. 16, led by 14 kills from
Mallory Potts and a strong defensive effort with five blocks each by
Sophia Howling and
Allie Olsonoski.
Seton Hall has been on a slide lately, having lost 11 in a row, but will certainly be looking for a win to close the season. The Pirate attack is led by Haylee Gasser with 301 kills and 2.89 kills/set, the eighth best mark in the conference. Maggie Cvelbar leads in assists with 705 and Raygan Murray paces the defense with 387 digs.
Villanova returns home for Senior Day for the final match of the regular seaosn. Villanova will honor five seniors:
Remy Fairchild,
Emma Decker,
Allie Olsonoski,
Myah Massenburg and
Regan Lough. This senior class is a major reason why the program has reached the postseason for the third consecutive year. Senior Day festivities will take place prior to the beginning of the match.
The Wildcats and Red Storm enter the final weekend tied at 11-5 in conference, each guaranteed either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. If each team wins it's Friday night match (SJU is home to Georgetown), Sunday's match will determine tournament seeding.
Villanova lost to St. John's in straight sets in the first meeting in Queens this year on Oct. 9, and will be looking for revenge. Potts posted a team-best 10 kills in the match that was largely dominated by the Red Storm.
The Red Storm offense is capable of putting up big numbers. They are led by Efrosini Alexakou with 413 kills, the second highest total in the conference, and Erica Di Maulo's 1005 assists, the only setter in the league to eclipse 1000 assists already.
The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the BEDN. Links to the broadcast will be provided on the website and @NovaVolleyball twitter page.
