VILLANOVA, Pa. – Time is running out in regular season play as the penultimate week is upon Villanova volleyball, starting out with the final midweek matchup of the year at Jake Nevin Field House on Wednesday evening.

Villanova (17-6, 8-4 BIG EAST) will take on the Georgetown Hoyas at 5:00 p.m. on the Main Line, looking for a sweep of the season series and a bettering of the conference tournament chances.

GET USED TO (SPL)IT    
The performance in Ohio and Indiana wasn't the flashiest, but the results were manageable as Villanova ended up with a split of the weekend for the fourth time in six weeks. VU fell in straight sets on Friday against Xavier, dropping the season series to the Musketeers. It looked like the 'Cats may carry that loss with them to Indiana as Butler took the first set, but the Wildcats turned it on in the second set to take down the Bulldogs on Saturday and sweep the 2025 matchups. It was a team effort as the 'Cats got a 10-kill, 16-dig double-double from Abby Harrell in addition to eight kills each from Cat Young and Campbell McKinnon, giving VU an important win.

BIG WEEK FOR THE BIG EAST BATTLE    
It's a monster week for Villanova as they'll take part in a midweek matchup against Georgetown, who's currently just one spot outside of the BIG EAST Tournament, before a contest against the nation's No. 12 team in the Creighton Bluejays. The Wildcats have won the last five contests and 12 of the last 15 opposite the Hoyas, including a four-set victory in October thanks to a Harrell double-double and Ava Mehrten season-high in kills. Friday sends the 'Cats to DJ Sokol Arena for a matchup against the Bluejays, who have won their last 14 contests, remain undefeated in league play and haven't lost to VU since 2019. The results of this week will go a long way in deciding Villanova's postseason fate as it's currently a tight set of standings.

CONFERENCE CRUNCH TIME    
The penultimate week of conference play has arrived and the recently shrunken BIG EAST Tournament field means even more pressure in a league with eight of 11 teams still in playoff contention. Creighton and Xavier are near locks for the postseason with just one league loss between the two of them, and beyond that it's six teams separated by just three wins with four matches to go. Villanova and Marquette currently hold the third and fourth seeds but UConn and Georgetown are each just one game back of the Golden Eagles and a lot could change based on the matchups in the final weeks. DePaul and Butler would need to run the table and get some help to extend the season, but the chance is still there for three quarters of the league to keep the season and NCAA Tournament chances alive.

HIGHLIGHTING THE HOYAS

• Georgetown is battling for its postseason lives in the final two weekends, currently owning a 6-6 conference record to sit just one game out of the BIG EAST Tournament after a monumental win over Marquette two weeks ago.
• GU is paced by a pair of hitters in freshman Samantha Soderlund (244 kills) and sophomore Dionna Mitchell (241 terminations), while setter Juleigh Urbina is in the league's top 10 for assists and aces and Kamryn Lee-Caracci for hitting percentage.
• The Hoyas have not won at Jake Nevin Field House since 2018, managing just four wins on the Main Line since 2001. Villanova has wins in the last five matchups over Georgetown.

The matchup will feature stats courtesy of StatBroadcast and streaming will be available on ESPN+.