Xavier Battles for Five Set Victory at Villanova

Saturday, October 4

Villanova, Pa.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

14-2,3-1Big East

Villanova

12-3,3-1Big East

Xavier

Villanova

Xavier Battles for Five Set Victory at Villanova

10.04.25 | Volleyball

Box Score

The Musketeers won a five-set thriller on the road for the second night in a row.

By: Abbey Curtis, Xavier Athletic Communications

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Xavier volleyball team pulled out a gritty 3-2 win over Villanova on Saturday night for their second straight five-set win in as many days.

XU handed the Wildcats their first BIG EAST loss of the season.

Emma Grace led the Musketeers out of the gate with seven kills in the first set, but Villanova's Abby Harrell and Marly Smith countered with eight kills each to lead VU to a massive .439 in the opening set. The Wildcats clawed out a 31-29 win in the frame that set the tone for the rest of the match.

Grace continued her dominance into the second set, tallying eight kills to lead the Musketeers to a 25-20 victory.

XU controlled the entire third set after jumping out to a 12-3 lead that was never relinquished. McKinley Boehm and Margo Kemp each recorded five kills in the frame as the Musketeers held VU to a match-low .158 for a 25-16 set three victory.

Villanova regained its momentum in the fourth set as both teams battled back and forth with 14 ties and 10 lead changes. The Musketeers recorded five blocks in the frame but VU took advantage of two late runs to take a 25-23 win and force a fifth set.

Boehm's five kills in the final set propelled XU to hit .346 and sneak out a 16-14 victory despite the Wildcats fighting off four set points.

Xavier improves to 14-2 with a 3-1 BIG EAST record while Villanova drops to 12-3 and 3-1 in league play.

notables

Emma Grace matched her career-high 23 kill tally and added 13 digs to notch her 37th career double-double. The redshirt senior also tallied three aces to reach the 100 career ace mark.
Macy Hatkevich had a record night on a career-high 59 assists as well as a career-best six blocks. The junior added 12 digs and six kills to tab her 23rd career double-double.
McKinley Boehm hit .522 on a career-high 15 kills and added three blocks.
Margo Kemp was one shy of matching her career-high with 13 kills on a .462 clip while tallying eight blocks.
Kelsey Niesen recorded 21 digs, six assists and two aces.
Anna Taylor rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 kills and a block.
Charlotte Moriarty had nine kills, 11 digs and two aces.
Elouise Czajkowski registered a season-high 13 digs.
The Musketeers recorded a season-high 78 kills, 74 assists and 99 points.
XU only had three service errors, their lowest mark of the season.
Xavier improves to 3-0 this season in five-set matches.