Sept. 24, 2006

Final Stats

Villanova, PA - On Sunday afternoon, the Villanova Wildcats gave Notre Dame all they could handle, but in the end, the Fighting Irish were too much and went on to win in four games. With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 6-9, and 1-1 in the BIG EAST. Notre Dame improves to 8-5 and 2-0 in the BIG EAST.

Right from the start, the Wildcats were ready go, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. The Wildcats would hold the lead for the entire first game, and eventually pulling out a 37-35 win.

Game two would be the opposite for the Wildcats, as Notre Dame took the early lead, and never let the 'Cats all the way back, winning 30-24.

Game three would once again be close throughout, with neither team holding a lead of more than three points. This time, however, the Irish were able to make some plays at the end to get the 33-31 win.

In game four, the Wildcats were not able to keep up the Notre Dame, recording just 10 kills compared to Notre Dame's 16. There was also a wide desparity in the hitting percetages of both teams in the final game, with Notre Dame hitting .438 to Villanova's .114.

Individual leaders for the Wildcats include Alona Cherkez, who tied her career-high with 25 kills and and was one dig shy of tying her career-high of 23 digs. The other match that Cherkez recorded 25 kills was earlier this season against Miami (Fla.) at the Spartan Invitational hosted by Michigan State. Kacy Sellers also recorded a double-double for Villanova, with 10 kills and 13 digs. Adrian Semrau and Dana Tartasky added 16 and 10 kills, respectively. Jenna Link chipped in with 32 assists while Chelsea Graman added 26.

Villanova will be on the road Wednesday at the University of Pennsylvania to take on the Quakers. The match is scheduled to start at 5:00 PM, not 7:00 PM as originally scheduled. Then they return home once again next weekend for two more conference matches, this time hosting West Virginia on Saturday and Pittsburgh on Sunday.