CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Villanova volleyball team kicked off BIG EAST play on Friday night, falling to the Xavier Musketeers in straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-19) at the Cintas Center.

"Xavier played a really clean match and they're tough to beat," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We'll have to be better to hang with them when they come to our place next month."

Rose Crist led Villanova (4-9, 0-1 BIG EAST) with a match-high 12 kills on a .303 hitting percentage. Kathleen Johnson (.348 hitting) and Kiera Booth (.333 hitting) each contributed nine kills and libero Elizabeth Feczko added a match-high 12 digs.

VU took the first two points of the match, but the remainder of the opening set was dominated by the Musketeers. Xavier claimed its largest lead of the frame at 20-13, but the 'Cats brought it back to a 21-19 score before XU proceeded to a 25-19 victory.

Villanova jumped out to an advantage in the second stanza, picking up a 13-8 lead. But Xavier battled back to tie the score at 18-18 before moving on to a 25-21 set win.

The Musketeers started the third on a 7-3 run and went up 10-5 before the Wildcats took a timeout. Villanova was not finished yet, though, bringing the score back to 21-18 after being down eight. XU was able to snatch back momentum and move on to a sweep of the contest.

UP NEXT: VU will have a tough test in its opening weekend of conference play, taking on the No. 22 Creighton Bluejays. First serve will be at 2 p.m. ET, broadcast on Nebraska Public Media.