Musketeers, Wildcats Set for Friday Night BIG EAST Contest

Friday, October 9

Philadelphia, Pa.

7 P.M.

Xavier University

Villanova

Musketeers, Wildcats Set for Friday Night BIG EAST Contest

10.08.15 | Volleyball

Xavier concludes its four game conference road swing this weekend

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier volleyball concludes its four-match road swing this weekend, beginning with a 7 p.m. match on Friday, Oct. 9 at Villanova. The Musketeers finish the road trip in South Orange, N.J., on Saturday with a 6 p.m. match at Seton Hall.

The Musketeers enter the weekend coming off of a four-set win at Butler on Oct. 3. The team improved its record to 8-7 (4-1 BIG EAST) on the year.

Villanova enters Friday's match with a 14-4 (4-1 BIG EAST) record. The Wildcats are coming off of a straight set (25-21, 25-16, 25-20) win over St. John's on Wednesday night, improving their win streak to three matches.

Seton Hall is scheduled to face Butler on Friday night before playing the Musketeers on Saturday. The Pirates are currently 2-3 in conference play, most recently falling in five sets at Providence.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Junior Abbey Bessler was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season on Monday. She recorded a total of 42 kills and 21 digs on the weekend. At DePaul, Bessler put down 28 kills, making it the fourth time in her career and second time this season that the outside hitter has posted 25 or more kills in a match.

NOTABLES

• Abbey Bessler recorded a match-high 14 kills against Butler on Saturday. She also added five digs, one solo block and one service ace.

• Xavier posted a season-high nine aces in the win at Butler. McKenna Estes and Lauren Frilling led the Musketeers in aces against Butler with three and two, respectively. Estes paces the Musketeers with 16 on the year.

• Freshman Laura Grossman posted a season-high attack percentage of .545 on 11 attempts at
Butler. She recorded seven kills and only one error. The outside hitter finished the week averaging 2.43 k/s with a .400 hitting percentage.

• Redshirt-freshman Meredith Klare paces the Musketeers with 4.33 d/s, ranking fourth in the BIG EAST in the category.

• McKena Estes and Mackenzi Humm continue to share the setter responsibilities this season. Estes has averaged 5.02 a/s, while Humm has added 4.98 a/s.

• In two matches last weekend, Estes averaged 6.43 a/s and 2.00 d/s, The freshman also added six aces.

SERIES HISTORY: VILLANOVA

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Villanova, 4-0. The Musketeers won both matches last year in three sets.

• Xavier hit .358 in the series last year and had 13 more blocks (15-2) than the Wildcats.

• Abbey Bessler averaged 4.0 k/s last year versus Villanova, while Makayla Agin added 3.0 k/s. Sofia Peterson chipped in 14 kills, a .440 hitting percentage and a team-high eight blocks.

NCAA STAT RANKINGS

• In the most recent release of the NCAA statistical rankings, the Musketeers rank 12th in the nation in digs per set (17.07 d/s). The Musketeers also rank 19th in team attacks per set (37.52 a/s).

• Abbey Bessler ranks second in the BIG EAST and 40th nationally in attacks per set (11.30 a/s).

XU VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM

• The Musketeers posted a 19-12 overall record last year, the team's 17th straight year with a .500 or above record.

• Xavier has posted a 28-11 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers advanced to the conference tournament in both seasons.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors eight times in the last 10 years. Aubree Smith earned the honors last season, while Abbey Bessler picked up the recognition in 2013.

RECORD WATCH: BESSLER

• Junior Abbey Bessler ranks seventh in career points at Xavier with 1,245.5. She also needs 195 more kills to enter the top-10 in career kills.

• Bessler is 103 digs away from becoming the 12th member of the 1,000 Kills-1,000 Digs Club. Sarah Brown (2010-13) was the last Xavier player to enter the club, finishing her career with 1,076 kills and 1,210 digs.

PRESEASON POLL

Xavier was selected to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll on Aug. 5 as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. Creighton, the reigning BIG EAST Tournament and regular-season champions, was picked to win the conference as the Bluejays received 81 points and nine first-place votes.

BIG EAST PRESEASON TEAM

Abbey Bessler was one of five unanimous selections to the 12-member, non-positional preseason all-conference team. The outside hitter earned AVCA All-Regional Honorable Mention Team honors last season and was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team and All-BIG EAST Tournament Team.

Bessler ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in kills (420) last season and sixth in total points. The two-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection is one of four returning starters for the 2015 season.

FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACH

Christy Pfeffenberger was named head coach on Jan. 29, 2015 after previously serving as the team's associate head coach. All told, she has spent five seasons on the bench as an either an assistant/associate head coach or head coach.

In five years on the Xavier bench, Pfeffenberger has helped the Musketeers post an 83-56 overall record with a 47-22 mark in conference play. XU has also had 12 players earn all-conference honors and two players earn AVCA All-American recognition.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers enter a four-match homestand on Friday, Oct. 16 at 3 p.m. against Georgetown followed by Creighton on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.