Volleyball Picks Up Critical Road Win at Villanova

Saturday, November 12

Villanova, Pa.

12 p.m.

Xavier University

Villanova

Volleyball Picks Up Critical Road Win at Villanova

11.12.16 | Volleyball

Box Score Season Stats (PDF)Box Score (PDF)

Abbey Bessler posts team-high 20 kills

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Xavier volleyball picked up a critical win in BIG EAST play on Saturday, defeating Villanova in four sets (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20) at Jake Nevin Field House on the campus of Villanova.

The Musketeers (16-12, 10-5 BIG EAST) split the season series with the Wildcats (17-11, 8-7 BIG EAST) and improved to 6-3 all-time against Villanova. Xavier fell to Villanova in four sets on Oct. 15 at Cintas Center. The win over the fourth-place Wildcats keeps the Musketeers, currently in third, in good position to earn one of the four bids to the BIG EAST Tournament.

MATCH NOTES

• Abbey Bessler led the match with 20 kills on the day. The senior outside hitter also added six digs.

• Brooke Betts posted seven kills with a .429 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high three service aces.

• Kristen Massa finished with 10 kills, the second Musketeer in double figures.

• Morgan Finn matched her season-high hitting percentage at .571 with four kills on seven attempts.

• McKena Estes posted a team-high 24 assists.

• Mackenzi Humm posted 21 assists to go along with 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the year.

SET ONE

• After battling back and forth early in match, Xavier took the lead for good at 11-10. The Musketeer's ripped off four-straight points to close out set one, winning with it's largest lead of the set, 25-21.

• Abbey Bessler had eight kills to lead the Musketeers. Mackenzi Humm and Meredith Klare had six digs each. Humm also posted 10 assists.

SET TWO

• Xavier lead by as many as four 16-12, before Villanova rallied to tie the match 20-20. The Musketeers outscored the Wildcats 5-2 down the stretch, winning the set on a VU service error.

• Abbey Bessler had five kills and Kristen Massa added four. Xavier had three service aces in the set.

SET THREE

• Xavier held a four-point lead late, 22-18, but the Wildcats closed the set on a 7-1 run to take VU's only set of the afternoon.

• Brooke Betts had a pair of service aces and assisted on three blocks in the set.

SET FOUR

• Xavier never trailed in the final set, pushing the lead out to as many as six. The Wildcats would get as close as two, 21-19, before Xavier responded with three straight points to get to match point. The Musketeer won 25-20 on a service error on the Wildcats, the second set-deciding service error of the day for VU.

• Six Musketeers recorded kills as the Musketeers posted a .323 attacking percentage for the set. Abbey Bessler and Kristen Massa led with three each and Sofia Peterson added a pair. Peterson also assisted on four of the 11 blocks for the Musketeers in the set.

UP NEXT

• Xavier closes out the four-game road swing tomorrow at Georgetown, facing the Hoyas at 1 p.m.