VILLANOVA, Pa.-In their return to the Jake Nevin Field House, the Villanova Volleyball team took the first set of the match but couldn't sustain their momentum in a four set loss to Marquette. The Wildcats drop to 8-5 (0-1 BIG EAST) and the Golden Eagles improve to 10-2 (1-0 BIG EAST).

"We came out aggressive in the beginning of the match against a team that's really good and you got to feel good about that," Villanova Volleyball Head Coach Josh Steinbach said. "I wish we would have been able to sustain the execution throughout the match but we'll get there."

The Wildcats hit the ground running in the first set with an early 3-1 lead. The Golden Eagles continued to chip away but Villanova kept a steady lead. After Sanaa Barnes hammered a kill to give the Wildcats an 18-13 lead, Marquette was unable to recover and the Wildcats took a 25-20 first set win.

Marquette flipped a switch, commanded the entire second set and never relinquished their lead en route to a 25-14 second set win.

The Wildcats made the third set competitive and a 3-0 run powered by a pair of kills from Homer and Barnes tied the score at 14. Both teams continued to trade blows with eight ties throughout the set. After a kill from Homer tied it at 22, the Golden Eagles went on a 3-1 run to win the third set, 25-23.

The Golden Eagles ran away with the fourth set and won 25-14, cementing the match win.

Inside The Box Score

• Homer led the Wildcats with 18 kills and recorded a .273 hitting percentage.
• Barnes hammered 12 kills, one shy of her season-high 13.
• Averi Salvador tallied 22 digs, tying her season-high amount.
• Andrea Campos dished out 38 assists.

The Wildcats face BIG EAST opponent DePaul Saturday, September 25 at 7:00 PM.