VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Villanova women's volleyball (9-5 overall, 0-2 BIG EAST) returns to the Jake Nevin Field House this weekend, hosting Xavier on Friday and Butler Saturday in search of the team's first conference victory of the season.

JAM THE JAKE    
Saturday's match against Butler will be Villanova's annual Jam The Jake contest, an event where Wildcat fans are encouraged to pack the stands at Jake Nevin Field House. In last year's Jam The Jake bout, the 'Cats took down Georgetown in five sets in front of a crowd of over 600 as head coach Josh Steinbach picked up his 250th career victory. Last season's iteration of Jam The Jake was the second highest attendance turnout of the year for VU volleyball, behind only the Hoops Mania Bonus Lottery match against St. John's which boasted a sellout crowd of 1,500 as the Wildcats stunned the Red Storm.

FAMILIAR FOES    
It's two BIG EAST rivals coming to town this weekend, and strangely, the 'Cats own the same all-time record against both of their opponents. Villanova maintains an 8-11 mark against both Butler and Xavier historically, but has seen different results versus these two squads in recent years. The Wildcats have lost three of the last four matches against the Musketeers, with the last victory coming in Cincinnati in 2021. VU's last win over Xavier in Villanova was in 2019, a sweep of XU in a match featuring no members of the current VU roster. Meanwhile, the 'Cats have won six of the last seven matchups against Butler dating back to November of 2018 after winning just two of the first 11.

AMAZING ANDREA    
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 ranks first in the conference and 20th nationally in terms of total assists, racking up 529 helpers on the year and spreading the ball around to the tune of three 125-kill players in Abby Harrell, Skylar Gerhardt and Kiera Booth. 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 93 digs and 17 blocks on the season.

X-RAYING XAVIER   
- Xavier comes to the Main Line on a high note, having toppled No. 11 Creighton in the opening week of BIG EAST action. The Musketeers head east at 9-4 overall with a 2-0 record in league play, sweeping Butler on Wednesday to kick off the BIG EAST calendar before the upset of one of the conference frontrunners in five sets on Saturday.
- Xavier has a trio of players over the century mark in kills this year, with Delaney Hogan (119), Anna Taylor (114) and reigning Offensive Player of the Week Emma Grace (107) all playing a heavy role in the attack.
- Three-time All-BIG EAST selection Carrigan O'Reilly adds 396 assists and 66 kills, while libero Stevie Wolf averages over four digs per set. Preseason All-BIG EAST outside hitter Brooklyn Cink has only played in nine matches for the Musketeers, who were projected to finish third in the preseason poll.
- The Musketeers sit near the middle of the BIG EAST in most statistical categories, with the outliers being hitting percentage (third) and blocks (9th).

THE BOOK ON BUTLER
- The Butler Bulldogs enter the weekend under .500 on the year, owning a 6-7 record with a winless record in conference. Butler swept the opening weekend this season but has lost seven of 10 since then, including straight set losses at the hands of Creighton and Xavier last week.
- The Bulldogs' offense is led by Mariah Grunze, who's totaled 160 kills on the year, while Georgia transfer Abby Maesch contributes 3.22 kills per set.
- The conference's reigning Libero of the Year Jaymeson Kinley leads the league in digs with 5.22 per set and Cora Taylor averages a conference-high 10.33 assists per frame while middle blocker Grace Boggess sits in the BIG EAST's top 10 for hitting percentage and blocks.
- As a team, the Bulldogs rank near the top of the conference in digs (second) and assists (third), close to the bottom in service aces (9th) and hitting percentage (10th) and in the middle in kills, blocks and opponent hitting.

Both matches are set for a 7 p.m. first serve with video coverage on FloSports and stat links on StatBroadcast.

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