Sept. 24, 2005

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Pittsburgh, Pa.-Villanova University (11-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) took a 3-0 victory from the Pittsburgh University Panthers (7-7, 0-1) in both team's BIG EAST season-opener, the Wildcats' first win over the Panthers in seven years.

The 'Cats' last win came on Oct. 9, 1998, also a three game sweep. The game scores were 30-23, 30-25, and 30-21 tonight.

Villanova's Alona Cherkez (Ukraine, Crimea) opened game one with a kill to give the 'Cats a 1-0 lead. But from then on, it was a closely contested set. The game featured 16 ties, and a 10-7 'Nova lead after an Adrian Semrau (Grafton, Ohio) kill was the largest gained by either team to that point.

Pitt took the lead back with an ace by Allie Cherven. The two teams traded points until a Cherkez kill made it 23-21 'Nova. Celine Nguyen (Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif.) connected on a kill to give Villanova a 27-23 lead and from there the 'Cats cruised to the win.

Pittsburgh started off game two with a 5-3 lead after a Villanova service error. The Panthers remained one step ahead, keeping 'Nova one point behind until a block assist by Kelly Ludwig (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and Dana Kabashima (Santa Monica, Calif.) knotted the score at 10-10. 'Nova took its first lead of the set at 11-10 when Pitt committed an attack error. The Wildcats increased their lead to 15-13 on a Pittsburgh service error, and a Panther attack error that gave Villanova a 17-14 lead forced a Pitt time out.

The Panthers came out of the break on a mini-tear and tied the game at 17 apiece after two solo blocks from Ashley White. The Panthers retook the lead on a kill by Diana Andreyko, and Villanova took a time out. The 'Cats grabbed the lead back and ran their advantage out to 24-20 after a block assist by Semrau and Kabashima. A Nguyen kill gave 'Nova a 27-23 lead and Villanova closed out the set from there.

Villanova took a commanding 12-2 lead to start the final stanza. Megan Bye (Englewood, Colo.) served 12 straight serves during that span. A kill by Pitt's Gini Ullery broke Bye's service string, and a spate of 'Nova errors gave the Panthers some breathing room. But a kill by Ludwig gave Villanova a 17-8 lead, and a Pitt attack error pushed that advantage to 20-8. VU and Pittsburgh went back and forth winning points before a Kacy Sellers (Battle Creek, Mich.) kill gave Villanova a 26-17 lead. A Pitt attack error gave the Wildcats the win.

Semrau led all players with 14 kills. She also recorded three blocks. Cherkez turned in a nine-kill performance. Sellers added seven kills on nine attempts with no errors to hit .778.

The Wildcats out-blocked the Panthers 10.0 to 6.0 and out-hit them .228 to .049.