VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Villanova Wildcats suffered a four-set defeat on Saturday night, falling to the Marquette Golden Eagles (25-20, 23-25, 17-25, 16-25) at Jake Nevin Field House.
It was Senior Night at Jake Nevin Field House, with the Wildcats honoring their seven-member senior class: Madeline Barber, Kiera Booth, Andrea Campos, Angelle Diamond, Riley Homer, Abby Keevins and Taryn Whittingham.
Booth and Abby Harrell contributed 14 kills each for Villanova (16-12, 7-9 BIG EAST), while Whittingham totaled a match-high 19 digs and Campos led her side with 37 assists and three aces.
After the sides traded points through most of the first frame, an 8-3 Villanova run created some distance up through a 13-8 VU lead before Marquette called time. The gap wouldn't close much the rest of the way, as the Wildcats closed it out with three straight to secure the opening period over a top-30 team in the nation.
It was an action-packed second set, featuring seven ties in the game. The final level score came at 23-23, up until a Marquette timeout turned the tides with the Golden Eagles earning two more after that to draw level in the match.
The third stanza started and ended with an MU advantage, maintaining a three-point edge and only extending it the rest of the way en route to an eight-point W.
Marquette grabbed the first three points of the fourth period and moved all the way to a 12-5 lead. Two separate 3-0 and 4-0 runs for the Wildcats brought it a bit closer, but the Golden Eagles got the point they needed to secure the match in four frames.
UP NEXT: Villanova wraps up the regular season with a New England expedition, first traveling to Rhode Island for a Friday night bout at Providence before the finale on Saturday at Connecticut.
