OMAHA, Neb. – Villanova volleyball (12-7, 3-4 BIG EAST) prepares for one of its toughest tests of the season, heading to DJ Sokol Arena to take on the No. 17 Creighton Bluejays (13-4, 4-2 BIG EAST) on Sunday afternoon.

LAST TIME OUT    

The Wildcats made the most of their final midweek trip of the regular season, taking down the Georgetown Hoyas in four sets (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21) on Wednesday night at McDonough Arena. It was a balanced attacking night for Villanova, led by 12 kills from Abby Harrell, 11 for Kiera Booth and eight each from Madeline Barber and Skylar Gerhardt to deliver VU's first BIG EAST road win of the 2023 campaign. A match-high 18 digs from Taryn Whittingham as well as tough serving from the 'Cats allowed for an edge in the match with Villanova totaling 10 service aces, including a team season-high five for Harrell. The victory marked Villanova's 19th win all-time against the Hoyas but the first in Georgetown's gym since 2019, which was before any of the current players were on the roster. 

BUOYED BY BARBER AND BOOTH

While Villanova's outside hitters have gotten much of the attention from opposing teams, two senior middle blockers have provided steadiness on the court. Madeline Barber, a four-year veteran who tied a career high in kills last week, and Kiera Booth, who head coach Josh Steinbach has called the team's best attacker, leads the team in blocks and ranks third in kills. But most importantly, they've contributed low-error volleyball, as Barber's .338 hitting percentage on the year ranks in Villanova's top 10 for a single season while Booth is VU's all-time attack percentage leader at .302. With two young outside hitters taking the majority of the swings, the Wildcats have relied on their middles to play cleanly, and they've delivered through the midway point of the season.

SETTING THE TONE

Potentially the most important member of this year's Villanova team has been setter Andrea Campos, who has been given the keys to this offense this year and has led it spectacularly. The senior leads the conference and ranks 15th nationally in terms of total assists, racking up 695 helpers on the year and spreading the ball around to the tune of three 180-kill players. After mainly playing in a 6-2 offense last year, Campos has taken the reins of the team this year and added value defensively with 141 digs and 20 blocks on the season while remaining one of Villanova's toughest servers at 15 aces.

MILESTONE WATCH    

Multiple Wildcats are within striking distance of impressive career milestones. Senior Riley Homer has 853 kills and needs 147 terminations to reach the 1,000 career plateau, a benchmark she eclipsed in both her sophomore and junior seasons. She also sits just 19.5 away from 1000 points for her career, but would need to get to 1460 to join the all-time top 10 in the VU ranks. Booth is currently the all-time Villanova leader for hitting percentage and vaulted herself into eighth in blocks per set, ninth all-time in block assists and 10th in total blocks on the Wildcats' career rankings with her play this year. Campos sits just outside the career assists list, needing 166 helpers to place herself in the top 10.

CHECKING OUT CREIGHTON    

• The No. 17 Creighton Bluejays enter the weekend at 13-4 overall, holding a 4-2 mark in BIG EAST play. Ranked second in the conference's preseason poll with four first place votes, the Jays' two losses have come in a sweep at Marquette and five-set loss at Xavier. 
• CU's numbers back up the record, as the Bluejays lead the BIG EAST in hitting percentage, kills, assists, digs and opponent hitting percentage while placing third in blocks per set. 
• Creighton has been without BIG EAST Player of the Year Norah Sis since Sept. 3rd, and much of the offense has fallen upon Ava Martin (243 kills), Kiana Schmitt (168) and Destiny Ndam-Simpson (121). 
• Martin ranks second in the conference at 3.92 kills per set, Kendra Wait averages 9.90 assists per frame for runner up in that category and libero Ellie Bolton contributes 4.37 digs per set to rank third in the BIG EAST while Schmitt maintains the conference's fourth-best hitting percentage at .344.
• Creighton hosts Georgetown on Friday at 7 p.m. from DJ Sokol Arena before the Sunday bout against the 'Cats. 

The match is set for opening serve at 2:00 p.m. Eastern (1:00 PM CT) with video coverage on FloSports and stat links on StatBroadcast.