VILLANOVA, PA-In their first match of the season, the Villanova Wildcats squared off against No. 21 Stanford and suffered a 3-0 loss despite a hard fought battle. With the loss, Villanova begins the season 0-1 while Stanford improves to 1-0. 

Stanford capitalized on three-straight attack errors from the Wildcats and jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set. Villanova was unable to grab the lead throughout the first set which resulted in a 25-14 loss. Kami Miner dished out 10 assists for Stanford and the team finished the first set with a .438 attack percentage. Clare Delaplane led the attack with five kills and recorded a .714 attack percentage. 
  
The Wildcats found their second wind in the second set and gained a 4-2 lead that was highlighted by a pair of kills from Kiera Booth. Stanford regained a 6-5 lead on an attack error from Maddie Barber but the Wildcats tied it at six on a kill from Rose Crist. After a kill from McKenna Vicini on the following serve, Stanford didn't look back and won the second set, 25-20. The Wildcats never trailed by more than five points throughout the entire second set. Holly Campbell led Stanford with five kills in the second set while Miner dished out 16 assists.   
  
Both teams saved the best for last in a thrilling third set. After trailing 5-1 early, the Wildcats kept moving forward and later scored three unanswered points highlighted by a pair of Rose Crist kills to tie it at 10. From that point, the lead changed five times. Tied at 23, both teams traded kills until the set was knotted up at 25 all. Stanford was able to pull away after an attack error from Crist and a kill from Campbell for a 27-25 win. Delaplane led Villanova's attack with eight kills and Belle Morgan set up 13 assists. 
 
Overall, Delaplane led the Wildcats with 15 kills and Morgan led the team with 29 assists. Crist delivered eight kills in her first collegiate match. Delaplane and Averi Salvador tied for the lead in digs with 11. 
  
"After we shook off some nerves, I thought we played pretty well," Villanova Volleyball Head Coach Josh Steinbach said. "At the end of the first and during the second and third sets, I thought we played good volleyball and it's a good sign for things to come."  The Wildcats are back at home Saturday with an 11:00 a.m. match against Rider University followed by a 6:00 p.m. match against Delaware.