Musketeers Travel to Villanova, Georgetown for Final BIG EAST Road Trip

Saturday, November 12

Villanova, Pa.

12 p.m.

Xavier University

Villanova

Musketeers Travel to Villanova, Georgetown for Final BIG EAST Road Trip

11.10.16 | Volleyball

Xavier has won seven of its last nine matches

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier volleyball wraps up a four-game road swing on Nov. 12-13. The Musketeers take on Villanova on Saturday at noon and Georgetown on Sunday at 1 p.m.

THE MATCHUP VS VILLANOVA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (15-12, 9-5) at VILLANOVA WILDCATS (17-10, 8-6)
Match Info: Saturday, Nov. 12 - 12 p.m. - Jake Nevin Field House
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2fx0M4M
Watch Live - BEDN: http://bit.ly/1sjW14c

ABOUT VILLANOVA

2016 Record: 17-10 (8-6 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads, 5-3

NOTABLES
• The Wildcats are coming off a five-set loss at Seton Hall on Nov. 5, but are 4-2 in their last six matches. Villanova is also 5-3 at home this season.
• Villanova ranks second in the BIG EAST in kills (13.88 k/s) and assists (12.95 a/s), while ranking third in hitting percentage (.248) and digs (15.54 d/s).
• The Wildcats rank first in the BIG EAST in service aces and 54th nationally in the category. Allie Loitz leads the conference in aces (0.41), while ranking 37th nationally.
• Emma Decker ranks second in the conference in assists (11.22 a/s).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Villanova, 5-3.

LAST MEETING: Villanova 3, Xavier 1 - Oct. 15, 2016 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• Sofia Peterson had a team-high 16 kills and .412 hitting percentage. Abbey Bessler added 14, while Kristen Massa posted 13.
• Morgan Finn had a career-high 12 kills to round out the Xavier players with 10 or more kills.
• Xavier had two more services aces (5-3) than Villanova, led by Meredith Klare who had three. Samantha Foti also had two.
• Meredith Klare also had a match-high 28 digs, while Samantha Foti chipped in 14.
• Xavier had two more total team blocks (9-7) than Villanova with Brooke Betts pacing the Musketeers with five. Sofia Peterson also added four.

THE MATCHUP VS GEORGETOWN

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (15-12, 9-5) at GEORGETOWN HOYAS (6-21, 2-12)
Match Info: Sunday, Nov. 13 - 1 p.m. - McDonough Arena
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2eBIvkY
Watch Live: http://bit.ly/2flmJDo

ABOUT GEORGETOWN

2016 Record: 6-21 (2-12 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads, 8-0

NOTABLES
• Georgetown has lost eight straight games with its last win coming on Oct. 7 against Providence. The Hoyas are also 1-9 at home this season.
• Georgetown ranks No. 8 or lower in all seven major team BIG EAST statistical categories.
• Paige McKnight ranks fifth in the conference in assists (9.81 a/s).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series against the Hoyas, 8-0.

LAST MEETING: Xavier 3, Georgetown 0 - Oct. 14, 2016 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• Xavier posted a season-high .420 hitting percentage in the 3-0 win (25-14, 25-16, 25-14) over Georgetown.
• Abbey Bessler led the Musketeers with a match-high 12 kills and .571 hitting percentage. The outside hitter also had nine digs in the win.
• Kristen Massa added nine kills and a .533 hitting percentage, while Morgan Finn chipped in eight kills. Finn also hit .312 in the victory.
• Defensively, Meredith Klare posted a match-high 10 digs. Samantha Foti added six for the Musketeers.
• Xavier matched its season-high in aces with seven with Samantha Foti leading Xavier with a match-high three service aces.
• Xavier also had 10 more total team blocks (11-1) than the Hoyas, paced by Brooke Betts who had seven blocks. Alexis Newsome also chipped in four solo blocks.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Senior Abbey Bessler was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for her on-court performance last week. The outside hitter has earned weekly recognition from the conference four times this season.

• The Hebron, Ky., native averaged 3.29 kills per set totaling 23 kills as the Musketeers went 1-1 last week. Bessler also added 3.29 digs per set, two blocks and five service aces over the week.

BIG EAST Weekly Award Winners

Name	Award	Week
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Nov. 7
Mackenzi Humm	Honor Roll	Oct. 27
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Oct. 25
Sofia Peterson	Honor Roll	Oct. 17
Sofia Peterson	Honor Roll	Oct. 10
Abbey Bessler	Honor Roll	Sept. 26
Abbey Bessler	Player of the Week	Aug. 29

NOTABLES

• Xavier is 7-2 in its last nine matches. The Musketeers have hit .256 in those matches, while limiting their opponents to a .204 hitting percentage.
• Samantha Foti has averaged 2.83 digs per set in her last nine matches. The junior has added a team-high 13 aces during that stretch.
• Sofia Peterson has hit .411 over the team's last nine matches. The senior right side hitter has added 102 kills and 22 blocks.
• In conference only matches, Brooke Betts ranks sixth in blocks (1.08 b/s) and 11th in hitting percentage (.295).
• Xavier has posted 51.5 more total blocks (232.5-181) thank its opponents this season.

BIG EAST STATS: XU TOP-FIVE

Hitting Percentage

1.	Creighton	.273
2.	Marquette	.263
3.	Villanova	.248
4.	Xavier	.241

Assists (a/s)

1.	Creighton	13.58
2.	Villanova	12.95
3.	Butler	12.76
4.	Xavier	12.65

Kills (k/s)

1.	Creighton	14.77
2.	Villanova	13.88
3.	Xavier	13.80

Blocks (b/s)

1.	St. John's	2.88
2.	Marquette	2.51
t-3.	Xavier	2.24
t-3.	Creighton	2.24

Individual Hitting Percentage

1.	Jasmine King, DePaul	.393
t-2.	Jenna Rosenthal, Marquette	.357
t-2.	Sofia Peterson, XU	.357

Individual Kills (k/s)

1.	Anna Logan, Butler	4.41
2.	Taylor Louis, Marquette	4.38
3.	Allie Loitz, Villanova	3.76
4.	Abbey Bessler, XU	3.71

Individual Service Aces (a/s)

1.	Allie Loitz, Villanova	0.41
2.	Megan Ballenger, Creighton	0.40
3.	Margherita Bianchin, St. John's	0.33
4.	Brittany Maxwell, DePaul	0.31
*t-5.*	Samantha Foti, XU	0.30
t-5.	Erica Di Maulo, St. John's	0.30

Individual Blocks (b/s)

1.	Danisha Moss, St. John's	1.46
2.	Jenna Rosenthal, Marquette	1.30
3.	*Alexis Newsome, XU*	*1.15*

Individual Points (p/s)

1.	Anna Logan, Butler	4.98
2.	Taylor Lewis, Marquette	4.94
3.	Allie Loitz, Villanova	4.49
4.	Brittany Maxwell, DePaul	4.29
5.	*Abbey Bessler, XU*	*4.10*

NCAA STATS

• Xavier ranks 17th in team kills (1,435) and 25th in team assists (1,316).
• Individually, Alexis Newsome ranks 50th in total blocks (117) and Abbey Bessler ranks 54th in total kills (378).

CAREER RECORD WATCH: BESSLER

KILLS

Rank	Kills	Name	Years
1.	1,779	Sally Schulte	1993-96
2.	1,687	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

ATTACK ATTEMPTS

Rank	AA	Name	Years
1.	4,874	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

POINTS

Rank	Points	Name	Years
1.	1,909.5	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

DIGS

Rank	Points	Name	Years
4.	1,407	Jennifer Nunn	1989-92
5.	1,347	Abbey Bessler	2013-pres.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as announced by the conference office on Aug. 3. The preseason poll and All-BIG EAST selections were voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Three Musketeers were selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team in Abbey Bessler, Kristen Massa and Sofia Peterson. Xavier and Creighton were the only two teams with three players each on the preseason team.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The Musketeers posted an 18-12 overall record last year, the team's 18th straight year with a .500 or above record.

• Xavier has posted a 47-19 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all three seasons.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors eight times in the last 11 years. Aubree Smith earned the honors last season, while Abbey Bessler picked up the recognition in 2013.