Volleyball Plays Host to Georgetown, Villanova

Friday, October 27

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Georgetown

Volleyball Plays Host to Georgetown, Villanova

10.26.17 | Volleyball

Live Stats Watch Live

Musketeers open weekend action on Friday night against the Hoyas

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier volleyball returns to BIG EAST action on Oct. 27-28 against Georgetown and Villanova. The first match of the weekend is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. against the Hoyas.

THE MATCHUP VS GEORGETOWN

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-17, 3-8) vs GEORGETOWN HOYAS (7-15, 1-9)
Match Info - Friday, Oct. 27 - 7 p.m. - Cintas Center
Watch live - bit.ly/2zKYDMy
Live stats - bit.ly/1UjZhTG

ABOUT GEORGETOWN

2017 Record: 7-15 (1-9 BIG EAST)
2016 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 10-0

LAST MEETING - XAVIER 3, GEORGETOWN 1
• Junior Morgan Finn led the Musketeers with a career-high 18 kills to go along with a .385 hitting percentage.
• Senior Lauren Frilling added nine blocks, six kills and two aces, including an ace on the final play of the match to seal the win.
• Junior Meredith Klare posted a match-high 29 digs to go along with six assists and one ace.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Georgetown, 10-0. The Musketeers have only lost three sets against the Hoyas in the last five meetings.

THE MATCHUP VS VILLANOVA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (8-17, 3-8) vs VILLANOVA WILDCATS (14-7, 7-3)
Match Info - Saturday, Oct. 28 - 6 p.m. - Cintas Center
Watch live - bit.ly/2zKYDMy
Live stats - bit.ly/1UjZhTG

ABOUT VILLANOVA

2017 Record: 14-7 (7-3 BIG EAST)
2016 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 6-4

LAST MEETING - VILLANOVA 3, XAVIER 0
• Junior Morgan Finn led the team in kills (8) and hitting percentage (.312).
• Xavier had two more blocks (5-3) than Villanova. Lauren Frilling led the Musketeers with four blocks, while adding four kills and two digs. Maya Krause chipped in three blocks and three kills.
• Freshman Moriah Hopkins had five kills and a .400 hitting percentage in two sets. Samantha Foti added three kills.
• Meredith Klare posted a match-high 14 digs, while Samantha Foti recorded seven.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Villanova, 6-4.

PROMOTIONS

Friday, Oct. 27 vs. Georgetown
SOCIAL MEDIA BOGO NIGHT - The team's Facebook and Twitter accounts will post a Social Media BOGO graphic on match day, and fans that retweet, repost or share the graphic will receive a FREE ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket. Simply show the staff at the ticket window your retweet, repost or share to receive the offer.
POST-MATCH - Autographs from select players.

Saturday, Oct. 28 vs. Villanova
HALLOWEEN AT CINTAS - Fans are encouraged to wear their best Halloween costume. Trick-or-Treat stations throughout the concourse before the match for kids in attendance. The fan with the best costume will win a Xavier prize pack!
BEST DRESSED CONTEST - The fan with the best Halloween costume, as voted on by the crowd, will win a Xavier prize pack.
POST-MATCH - Autographs from select players

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Junior Meredith Klare was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Tuesday afternoon. The libero earns the weekly recognition for the second time this season.

• Klare averaged 5.67 digs per set last week, while adding five assists and one ace. She posted a match-high 19 digs at Marquette and a match-high 15 digs at DePaul.

RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE

• Alexis Newsome posted a Xavier single-match school record of 12 blocks against St. John's on Oct. 7. The previous record of 11 total blocks was set by Alex Blair on Sept. 19, 2014 against Lipscomb. The 12 blocks also rank sixth in the NCAA this season for single-match performances (five sets).

• The Musketeers posted 23 total team blocks, tied for the most in the NCAA this season.

NOTABLES

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in digs (16.11 d/s), while ranking 68th nationally. The Musketeers also rank third in blocks (2.47 b/s) in the conference, ranking 46th nationally in the statistical category.

• Meredith Klare leads the conference in digs per set (4.57), while ranking 42nd nationally in total digs (420).

• Alexis Newsome and Lauren Frilling both rank in the top-10 of the BIG EAST stats in blocks. Newsome ranks fourth (1.14 b/s), while Frilling ranks eighth (0.99 b/s). Newsome also ranks 13th in hitting percentage (.285).

• Senior Mackenzi Humm ranks 10th in school history in assists with 1,874. The setter has averaged 5.30 a/s this season.

• The Xavier volleyball program is two wins away from its 800th program victory. The Musketeers have posted a 798-612 record in 44 years of competition.

KLARE - XU RECORD BOOK

• Meredith Klare ranks sixth in school history in digs with 1,381. The junior libero is 11 digs shy of moving into fifth place.

MASSA - CAREER MILESTONE

• Senior Kristen Massa eclipsed the 1,000-career kill mark in the Musketeers' 3-1 win over Albany on Saturday, Sept. 16. She now has 1,017 kills over her career as the outside hitter has averaged 2.59 k/s during her career.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Senior Kristen Massa was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Massa, a 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team selection, ranked third on the team in kills (292) last season, while adding 47 blocks and 63 digs. The Cincinnati native had 10 or more kills in 16 matches.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as selected by conference head coaches. The Musketeers finished tied for second in the BIG EAST standings a year ago and advanced to the conference tournament championship match before being defeated by No. 21 Creighton.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier faces seven teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Seventeen of the Musketeers 23 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 23 opponents combined to post a 433-289 record last season with a .600 winning percentage. Xavier's opponents averaged 18.8 wins a year ago.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier has posted a 54-26 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all four seasons.

• The BIG EAST Tournament will be hosted by Marquette after being held at Butler in 2016.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier posted a 20-13 (13-5) record last season under head coach Christy Pfeffenberger. The 20-win campaign was the 21st in program history.

• The Musketeers overall record of 20-13 last year was the programs 19th consecutive season with a .500 or above record.

• Head coach Christy Pfeffenberger has posted a 46-40 overall record in two seasons with the Musketeers, including a 30-15 mark in BIG EAST play.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors nine times in the last 12 years. Abbey Bessler earned AVCA All-American honorable mention team honors last year.