Oct. 3, 2008

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team concludes its eight-match homestand this weekend as it hosts Fordham on Saturday at 4 p.m. and welcomes Rutgers to Jake Nevin Fieldhouse on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Wildcats will `Dig for the Cure' in the match against Rutgers on Sunday. For every dig that Villanova makes, donations will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Philadelphia. The Wildcats will also be selling limited edition pink Villanova volleyball t-shirts for $15 with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Villanova enters the weekend with a 9-7 overall record and are 1-1 in the conference. Senior Dana Tartazky leads VU with 194 kills this season. She has also collected 2.23 digs per set. Freshman Maggie Mergen is second on the squad with 160 overall kills. Both were named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for their play the previous week.

Freshman Kim Maroon is the team-leader with 3.85 digs per set, while Chelsea Graman is first on the Wildcats and second in the BIG EAST dishing out 10.84 assists per set. Villanova is coming off a 3-1 loss to Temple on Wednesday night.

Fordham enters Saturday's match with a 10-8 overall record and have dropped their previous two matches. Most recently, the Rams fell to Seton Hall in a three-set match. Sophomore Christi Griffiths leads the squad with 171 kills, while senior Katherine Burrell has collected a team-high 178 digs for the season.

Rutgers will face Seton Hall before coming to Villanova, but the Scarlet Knights currently have a 1-10 record. Caitlin Saxton leads the team with 3.00 kills per set.