Volleyball Ready for Important Homestand This Weekend

Friday, October 25

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Georgetown

Volleyball Ready for Important Homestand This Weekend

10.24.19 | Volleyball

Xavier to face Georgetown and Villanova as the postseason looms

By: By Mark Leopold, Xavier Athletics Communications

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Xavier is set to face Georgetown and Villanova this weekend with huge BIG EAST Tournament ramifications on the line. While Xavier currently places sixth with a 4-4 conference record, Georgetown is tied for seventh while Villanova sits in a three-way tie for third. In their earlier meetings on the road this season, the Musketeers knocked off the Hoyas in a gritty five-set match after losing to the Wildcats in three sets.

Following this weekend, Xavier will travel to nationally-ranked Marquette before returning to Cintas Center to play seventh-ranked DePaul at 1:00 pm ET on November 3.

THE MATCHUP VS GEORGETOWN

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (7-11) vs GEORGETOWN HOYAS (12-10)
Match Info - Friday, Oct. 25 - 7:00 p.m. ET - Cintas Center
Watch - https://bit.ly/XUHomeStream
Live Stats - https://bit.ly/XUHomeStats

ABOUT GEORGETOWN

2019 Record: 12-10 (2-6 BIG EAST)
2018 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads 13-2
Last Meeting : XU 3, GU 2 - 10/5/2019

GEORGETOWN AT A GLANCE
• Following a rough Bulldog Invitational that saw the Hoyas lose three straight matches, Georgetown closed non-conference action on a seven-match win streak. Additionally, they opened BIG EAST play with another victory, this time in five sets over Providence. However, the Hoyas have hit a ough patch, losing in five of their last six matches, including a tough five-set home loss to Xavier.
• Georgetown's Iva Vujosevic has already surpassed 300 kills on the season, as she averages 3.80 k/set. However, she has also surpassed 160 errors on the season, bringing her hitting percentage down to .162. However, she has been a top server, connecting on 37 aces in 22 matches; good for almost one ace per two sets.
• Georgetown was picked to finish sixth (out of 10) in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, and currently sit seventh with a 2-6 conference record.
• Toby Rens enters his second season as head coach of Georgetown. Prior to coach with the Hoyas, he tallied 395 career victories and six NCAA Tournament Appearances. This included time at Northern Michigan, Maryland Eastern Shore, LIU-Brooklyn, Pittsburgh and Chicago State.

THE MATCHUP VS VILLANOVA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (7-11) vs VILLANOVA WILDCATS (14-6)
Match Info - Saturday, Oct. 26 - 6:00 p.m. ET - Cintas Center
Watch - https://bit.ly/XUHomeStream
Live Stats - https://bit.ly/XUHomeStats

ABOUT VILLANOVA

2019 Record: 14-6 (5-3 BIG EAST)
2018 Postseason: BIG EAST Tournament First Round
Series History: Xavier leads 8-6
Last Meeting : VU 3, XU 0 - 10/4/2019

VILLANOVA AT A GLANCE
• Villanova's season began with an impressive 10-2 non-conference record. The only two losses came against the only two Power 5 opponents the Wildcats faced, TCU and USC. Villanova began BIG EAST play with a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, to play Creighton. The match was fairly easy for the Jays, as Villanova failed to reach 20 in each set. However, they bounced back in Providence, Rhode Island, as the Wildcats came away with a four-set victory over the Friars. They beat Xavier and Butler in straight sets immediately after, eventually bringing their home conference record to 4-1. On the road, the Wildcats are 1-2 in BIG EAST play.
• For Villanova, the key to their attack has been efficiency. While their kill leader averages under three kills per set, the top four attackers all have an average hitting percentage above .281. For comparison, no Xavier attacker averages above .280, though they average a similar kill count.
• Villanova was picked to finish fourth (out of 10) in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, and currently sit third with a 5-3 conference record.
• The Wildcats are led by 13-year head coach John Steinbach. During his tenure, he has accumulated 206 wins, the most by any coach in Villanova volleyball history. In 2015, Steinbach was named the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year following a 25-9 season and the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

FIRST SERVE

• Xavier enters this weekend with a 7-11 record after picking up two four-set victories at the Utah State Tournament, beating the host and Eastern Michigan after falling to Southern Utah in their regular-season opener. At home, they knocked off William & Mary in between losses to Akron and eventual tournament champions Wright State. They started BIG EAST play with a five-set victory at DePaul and a five-set victory at Georgetown. At home, Xavier beat Seton Hall in three sets for their first sweep of 2019, and they beat Providence on the road to continue their road dominance.

• Two Musketeers won awards on the first weekend of action, as Lauren Hanlon and Ellie Chaffee were name to the All-Tournament team. Additionally, Hanlon was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. In Week two, Moriah Hopkins was named to the All-Tournament team and Jayda Carlton was listed on the BIG EAST Honor Roll. The following week, Lauren Hanlon was named to the All-Tournament Team following her 24-kill performances in two matches at the LUV Invitational. Ellie Chaffee earned a spot on the BIG EAST Honor Roll in part due to her 10-kill, 9-block performance against Georgetown. Jayda Carlton earned two more BIG EAST Honor Roll mentions for her blocking against Seton Hall and Marquette, and the following week after her blocking against Providence and Creighton.

2019 OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier plays two teams that finished the year ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll: No. 13 Creighton and No. 15 Marquette.

• The Musketeers take on five teams that participated in the 2018 NCAA Tournament (Eastern Michigan, Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and Creighton). Twelve of the Musketeers 20 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 20 opponents combined to post a 311-294 last season with a .514 winning percentage.

• Xavier will face teams from nine different conferences this year, including a team from the ACC.

• The Musketeers faced three teams for the first time in program history this fall: Utah State, Southern Utah and William & Mary.

2019 TEAM LEADERS

• Freshmen Alyssa Overbeck and MaryAnn O'Toole and Senior Madi Kutruff lead the team in digs so far this season with a combined 652 digs of the team's 946.

• Sophomore Jayda Carlton is the BIG EAST block leader, as she's tallied 77 blocks (1.22 block per set) in 18 matches.

• While kills are evenly dispersed throughout Xavier's balanced attack, Redshirt Freshman Lauren Hanlon leads the way with 159 put-aways (2.56 kills per set). Behind her, Moriah Hopkins and Norah Painter chip in with 136 kills and 117 kills respectively.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier opened BIG EAST play on Sept. 25 at DePaul and won a tight five-set match. The Musketeers close conference action at Butler on Nov. 23.

• Xavier has posted a 70-43 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in three of their five seasons in the BIG EAST.

• Marquette will host the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament after it was held at Creighton a year ago.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier graduated five seniors in Morgan Finn, Meredith Klare, Laura Grossman, Olivia Hart and McKena Estes.

• The Musketeers return eighth letterwinners from last year, including two upperclassmen. Xavier will have one senior on the team this fall.

• Xavier added five newcomers to the 2019 roster in MaryAnn O'Toole, Carrigan O'Reilly, Alyssa Overbeck, Ailsa Watson and Hayley Heitmeyer.

• Xavier returns freshman outside hitter Norah Painter who ranked fourth on the team in total kills (178) last season. The Musketeers also return its leader in total blocks (107) in Jayda Carlton.

UP NEXT

• Following this weekend, Xavier will travel to nationally-ranked Marquette before returning to Cintas Center to play seventh-ranked DePaul at 1:00 pm ET on November 3.