OMAHA, Neb. – For the first time since 2019, Villanova volleyball (17-13, 9-9 BIG EAST) makes its way into the BIG EAST Semifinals. The Wildcats will appear in their 15th BIG EAST semifinal all-time on Friday night, taking on the #2 seed and RV Marquette Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Eastern from D.J. Sokol Arena.

OUTLASTING IN OMAHA
Villanova's MO all season long has been staying multiple and spreading the ball around to a variety of hitters, and that's exactly how the Wildcats outlasted the Connecticut Huskies in the BIG EAST First Round on Wednesday. The 'Cats had double-doubles galore in the match, including the first career from freshman Campbell McKinnon (team-best 15 kills and career-high 11 blocks) and senior libero Elizabeth Feczko (20 digs, career-high 10 assists). Cat Young and Abby Harrell each appeared in the kill and dig columns with double digits, while both setters Alyssa Nelson and Taylor Jakubowski got their eighth double-double on assists and digs. Villanova's first playoff win since 2015 and second under Josh Steinbach took five sets and three hours, the longest match of the year for the 'Cats.

PAIR OF WILDCATS NAMED TO ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM    
For the second straight year, a pair of Villanova Wildcats earned conference yearly accolades as sophomore hitter Harrell was named to her second All-BIG EAST team and freshman McKinnon earned mention on the all-freshman squad. The 'Cats were one of five schools that placed multiple athletes on the all-conference lists, joining fellow BIG EAST Tournament participants Creighton (seven players honored), Connecticut and DePaul (both four) and Marquette (three). 2024 marks the 14th time in the 50-year history of Villanova volleyball that VU has gotten multiple all-conference awardees, following a 2023 where Harrell and Kiera Booth did the same. 

FRESHMAN PHENOMS
Villanova's most recent crop of freshmen was dynamite in its first regular season with five out of the six new Wildcats playing critical roles on the court. Out of this class came Villanova's leading assister and top blocker, as well as the second, third and fourth most kills. McKinnon had the most blocks and second best hitting percentage among league first years, Nelson was the only freshman up for BIG EAST Setter of the Year, Young ranked in Villanova's top five in four major statistical categories, Taylor Lewis registered multiple kills in 21 different matches and Lola Buck-Taylor took advantage of the NCAA rule change as Villanova's second libero in 24 matches.

GETTING INTO THE GOLDEN EAGLES

• Marquette, who is earning votes in the national top 25 poll and has been most of the year, maintained a 22-7 overall record with a 16-2 mark in conference to earn the second seed in the league playoffs, the only losses coming to Creighton.
• MU swept the Wildcats in each of the regular season contests and owns a 26-4 edge over Villanova in the all-time series. The programs have met in the postseason just once, Marquette sweeping the 'Cats in VU's last semifinal appearance (2019).
• The Golden Eagles had a trio of players selected to the all-conference squads, including setter Yadhira Anchante (1052 assists, team-best 324 digs) as well as unanimous selections in Aubrey Hamilton (team-high 353 kills) and Hattie Bray (310 total points, MU-best 84 blocks).

The match will have a stream courtesy of BEDN on FloSports with statistics available on StatBroadcast. Tickets can be purchased on Creighton's Ticketmaster site.