INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Villanova volleyball picked up an important road win on Friday night, outlasting the Butler Bulldogs in a five-set bout (25-17, 12-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-10) at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Wildcats move to 4-2 in five-set matches this season, picking up their first victory in a BIG EAST match that has gone the distance. With the win, VU draws even in the season series with Butler and picks up its seventh victory in the last nine contests between the squads.
It was a huge night for both middle blockers of Villanova (16-9, 7-6 BIG EAST), as Madeline Barber put down a career high 18 kills on .400 hitting while Kiera Booth added 17 terminations at a .394 clip.
Andrea Campos put forth her sixth double-double of the year with a match-high 47 assists and 13 digs and Taryn Whittingham paced her squad at 24 digs and a career-best seven assists.
As for the outside hitters, Abby Harrell neared a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs with Skylar Gerhardt totaled seven kills, a career-high 16 digs and a pair of aces.
"That was a huge win for us on the road, especially gutting one out like that," head coach
Josh Steinbach said. "Madeline and Kiera were awesome offensively and we made big plays when it mattered."
Villanova took the opening three points of the match, then Butler answered with four straight to set the tone for the match. After the Bulldogs used a six-point stretch to force a VU timeout, the 'Cats struck back with a 10-0 run of their own to secure an edge of seven in the opening stanza. From there, the Wildcats responded to every Butler point and controlled the period, cruising to a 25-17 win.
The home side fought back, jumping out to a 10-4 and 15-8 advantage in the second set to prompt two Villanova pauses in the first half of that game. Butler powered ahead through the rest of that set, moving to a 25-12 victory to knot things up at a set apiece.
The Wildcats created some distance to begin the third frame with a 7-1 stretch and charged to multiple nine-point edges, but the Bulldogs crept back and prompted a pair of VU timeouts. Butler kept up the pressure after that break, tying the set at 21-all. The squads traded side-outs from there through 26-25, up until Booth tipped one over and it fell to deliver the third to Villanova.
With the sides knotted up at 9-9 to open the fourth period, it was a 5-1 string for BU to grant the home team an edge. The 'Cats got it back within one multiple times, but couldn't deliver the final blow so Butler made it two sets per side.
The fifth was a game of runs as Dani Ortiz led the Wildcats on a 5-0 stretch with some strong serving, then Butler answered with a 6-1 run to regain the lead. Villanova used three kills to jump back in front, then rode that momentum to the finish line for a thrilling win.
Villanova picks up its ninth all-time victory over the Bulldogs, and just its third ever at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats round out their road trip with a visit to Cincinnati on Sunday, taking on the Xavier Musketeers at 1:00 PM from the Cintas Center.
