Nov. 3, 2006

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - On an evening in which the team honored its three graduating seniors, Villanova (16-13, 7-5 Big East) used its persistence to sweep Seton Hall (14-13, 3-8) 3-0 on Friday night at Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. The Wildcats took the match by scores of 34-32, 30-16 and 31-29 and earned their 15th win in the previous 20 matches.

The decisive factor of the game was Villanova's persistence with its back against the wall. The Pirates were 0-for-4 in potential game points in the match as the Wildcats staved off defeat late in the first and third games. In the third and final game, Seton Hall led 29-28 and served for a chance to force a fourth game, but Villanova won the next three points and ended the match with a solo block by senior Adrian Semrau (Grafton, Ohio).

The end of the match resembled the end of the first game, when the Pirates had three potential game points before the Wildcats eventually rallied for a 34-32 victory. That set the tone for a quick second game, in which Villanova made just three attack errors and hit .394.

Semrau and the team's blocking played key roles in preventing Seton Hall from taking any of the three games. Semrau had a career-high 11 total blocks and the team registered a team-high 17.0 blocks, compared to just three total blocks for the Pirates.

The Wildcats were led by their senior middle blocker, as Semrau tallied her first career `kills-blocks' double-double. She added 14 kills to go along with the career-best blocking effort, while sophomore Dana Tartazky (Haifa, Israel) reached double figures with 11 kills. Sophomore Alona Cherkez (Ukraine, Crimea) recorded nine kills and 11 digs.

Villanova made just 18 hitting errors in the match and Semrau had no errors along the way to hitting .500 on the evening. Each team had a total of 48 kills, but Seton Hall committed 34 errors and had a hitting percentage of .095 in the match.

Allie Matters led the Pirates with match-highs of 16 kills and 19 digs, while Stacey Craighead put down 10 kills. Brittany Rahrer had 38 assists for Seton Hall.

When the Wildcats weren't registering blocks for points, their passing game did an effective job of setting up the leading hitters. Five different players had at least five kills for the evening. Senior Jenna Link (Wheaton, Ill.) totaled 25 assists and freshman Chelsea Graman (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 16 assists.

Villanova will now be idle until November 11 when it visits Connecticut for a 2 p.m. contest on the road. The Wildcats are currently in eighth place in the BIG EAST, one game ahead of the Huskies (5-5) for the final spot in the conference tournament later this month. Villanova likely needs to win one of its final two league matches in order to advance to the conference tournament for the third time in the last four years.

NOTES: Link, Semrau and senior Kelly Ludwig (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) were honored in a ceremony prior to the beginning of the match ... The graduating senior class can boast 60 wins and an overall winning record in their careers for the Wildcats ... Junior Kacy Sellers (Battle Creek, Mich.) was second on the team to Semrau with five blocks in the match ... Tartasky and Ludwig had four blocks apiece ... Semrau had set her previous career high of nine blocks in a match just six days ago in a 3-1 win over Syracuse last Saturday ... In that match she had five solo blocks and four block assists ... In tonight's match Semrau had the one solo block to end the match along with 10 block assists.