Sept. 6, 2008

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team rebounded from last night's loss to sweep the Long Island Blackbirds 3-0 (28-26, 25-20, 25-17), in the Nittany Lions Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats (3-2) were led by freshmen Maggie Mergen and Morgan Petkovich turning in 13 and 11 kills respectively.

Junior Chelsea Graman dished out 36 assists, while freshman Kim Maroon and junior Amy Gulyas each collected 10 digs.

The Wildcats combined to hit .310 with 13 errors, while holding Long Island to .098 in the match.

An 11-11 tie opened the first set with a miscue from Long Island giving Villanova a 12-11 lead. A 5-2 run from the Wildcats forced the Blackbirds into a timeout, but Long Island scored five unanswered points to tie the game at 17, following the break. Back-to-back kills from freshman Mergen put the `Cats ahead, 21-19, though VU used its first timeout following a kill from the Blackbirds. A kill from freshman Laurie McNamara tied the score at 23, but the Blackbirds took a 24-23 lead to serve for set point. Petkovich notched a kill to tie the set at 24 apiece. VU took a 26-25 lead to serve for set point, but could not convert after an error. After an error by the Blackbirds, Villanova took set one, 28-26. Petkovich hit seven kills in the stanza, while `Nova had a .270 attack percentage and held the Blackbirds to just .114.

With the teams tied at 14 in the second frame, freshman Maria Nolan and junior Elysse Studzinski had a block to jump in front, 15-14, but the Blackbirds answered to tie the game again at 15 apiece. VU scored three unanswered to go ahead, 18-15, sending Long Island into a timeout. With a 22-17 advantage, Mergen slammed a kill to keep the `Cats in front, 23-17. Senior Dana Tartazky served for set point at 24-18, but VU would need another try. A kill from Petkovich gave Villanova a 25-20 victory in the second set. Mergen hit five kills in the frame, while Petkovich notched four to give her 11 kills through two sets of play. The Wildcats hit a blistering .556 with just two errors, while Long Island hit just .290.

A kill from McNamara gave Villanova an 11-8 lead in the third set, but the Blackbirds rallied back to score four unanswered and take a 12-11 lead. It was the Wildcats who then scored three consecutive points to regain the lead at 15-12, and stayed in front, 19-14, following a kill from Mergen. Villanova served for match point following a kill from Nolan, but could not convert after a ball handling error was called. The `Cats earned the set victory on a kill from freshman Courtney Oertli, and swept the Blackbirds, 3-0.

The Wildcats return to the court at 8 p.m. in the final match of the Nittany Lions Invitational when they face no. 1 ranked Penn State.