MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Villanova women's volleyball fell to a ranked opponent on Saturday, suffering a defeat to the No. 17 Marquette Golden Eagles in straight sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-18) at the Al McGuire Center.

"We just weren't consistent enough tonight," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "I thought Ellery Gray came off the bench and gave us a spark tonight, and Izzy Plummer played well for us too."

Rose Crist totaled double-digit kills for Villanova (7-19, 3-11 BIG EAST) with 10, while Riley Homer and Kiera Booth each contributed six terminations. 

Gray tallied a career-high 24 assists in the match and Plummer added three blocks and three kills, while Madeline Barber put up five kills and three blocks in the visit to her home state of Wisconsin.

Marquette was dominant to begin the match, taking a 5-1 advantage to open the first frame. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 11 in the stanza, and although the 'Cats staved off three set points, MU moved to a 25-16 victory.

Villanova was the one with an early lead in the second, leading 8-3 and 10-5 to start the period. But Marquette punched right back, finding an advantage at 12-11 and continuing to an 18-14 edge. Despite VU closing the gap to just one, the Golden Eagles once again raced to the finish line for a 25-22 win.

The Wildcats hopped out to an advantage in the third as well, leading 8-4 to begin the frame. But MU snatched momentum back with a 10-0 run, getting to a 16-10 lead and cruising on to a sweep of the match.

UP NEXT: The Wildcats prepare for their final home weekend of the year, hosting Georgetown on Thursday night for the annual "Jam The Jake" match before taking on Butler on Saturday for Senior Night.