OMAHA, Neb. – The Villanova Wildcats ended up with a split on the week, following up Wednesday's victory with a loss to No. 17 Creighton in straight sets (21-25, 18-25, 14-25) at DJ Sokol Arena in the lone BIG EAST contest on Sunday.

Abby Harrell had a big performance for Villanova (12-8, 3-5 BIG EAST), leading the match in both kills (11) and service aces (three). Madeline Barber added eight terminations for the Wildcats while Taryn Whittingham contributed a match-high 17 digs and Andrea Campos put up a team-best 24 assists.

The 'Cats went up early in the first frame, forcing a Creighton timeout with a 12-9 advantage to open the match. But the Bluejays battled right back and tied the match at 20-20, then took five of the final six points to establish a one set advantage.

Villanova was the first to 10 in the second period behind back-to-back-to-back service aces from Harrell. But Creighton took the edge back and then some with a 9-2 run, causing two VU pauses in that stretch. Despite the Wildcats closing the gap a bit at the end, the Jays finished off the set with a 25-18 victory.

The Bluejays took the first five points of the third stanza and forced an early Villanova TO, but the 'Cats turned it right around and brought the score to a 9-9 tie. From there it was all Creighton as CU ended the match on an 8-0 stretch to sweep the match.

UP NEXT: The Wildcats return to Jake Nevin Field House for a pair of bouts next weekend, hosting Seton Hall on Friday for the Hoops Mania Bonus Lottery Match before St. John's comes to town for a 5 p.m. matchup on Saturday.