Nov. 18, 2003

VILLANOVA, PA. -

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2003 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL GAME NOTES

Sitting Courtside: Villanova clinched the fourth seed in the BIG EAST Tournament with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over St. John's on Saturday. Junior Katie Lanting (Loveland, Colo./Alexander Dawson) registered a match-high 21 kills to go along with her one solo block and six block assists. The Wildcats saw their nine-match win streak snapped with a 3-1 setback to Connecticut on Sunday. Villanova now stands at 14-14 overall and 7-5 in BIG EAST play.

Super Sophs: Sophomore outside hitters Celine Nguyen (Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) and Dana Kabashima (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica) each turned in strong all-around performances in the Wildcats' final two regular season matches. Against St. John's, Nguyen tallied 17 kills and a team-high 21 digs, while Kabashima turned in a 15-kill, 16-dig and four block assist effort. Nguyen responded with 15 kills and 13 digs versus Connecticut, while Kabashima chipped in four kills, eight digs and a block assist.

Tournament History: The Wildcats have made 15 trips to the BIG EAST Tournament since 1982 and have registered a 21-24 overall record in conference playoffs. Villanova has advanced to the title game once (1997), but has never captured a tournament championship.

Last Dance: Villanova will compete in its first BIG EAST Tournament since the 1997 campaign when the Wildcats finished 20-9. Villanova defeated Connecticut 3-1 in the semifinals before losing to Notre Dame in the championship match, 3-1. The Wildcats also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1997 where they suffered a 3-2 setback to Northern Illinois in the opening game.

Cat Fights: Pittsburgh and Villanova have met seven times in the BIG EAST Tournament, dating back to 1982. The most recent meeting happened in 1996 when the Panthers knocked the Wildcats off in the semifinals, 3-1. Pittsburgh has defeated Villanova in all seven post season meetings.

Scouting Pittsburgh: The Panthers enter the weekend with a 22-4 overall record and 10-1 mark in the BIG EAST. Three Pittsburgh players have tallied more than 300 kills with senior outside hitter Wendy Hatlestad leading the way with 427. Junior Megan Miller and senior Sarah Rollman have tallied 343 and 312 kills, respectively. Junior Lindsey Macke handles most of the setting duties with 1,144 assists. Defensively, Miller leads Pittsburgh with 81 total blocks, while Rollma has managed 67 of her own. Chris Beerman has a 75-39 record during his four years as head coach of Pittsburgh.

Share and Share Alike: Notre Dame and Pittsburgh shared the 2003 regular season title, as both teams finished BIG EAST play with a 10-1 record. The Panthers defeated the Fighting Irish, 3-2, in the final match of the regular season to claim a share of first place.

Lanting Achieves Career High: Junior middle blocker Katie Lanting (Loveland, Colo./Alexander Dawson) has reached a new career high for kills in a season, after tallying 64 kills in three matches last week. Lanting's total of 335 kills in 104 games this season surpasses her previous high of 292 kills in 2002.

Edwards Gains Ground: Senior setter Jennifer Edwards (Valencia, Calif./Valencia) climbed to fourth among Villanova's all-time assists leaders. Edwards has tallied 2,552 assists in 398 career games and trails Hillary Anderson for third place by 66 helpers. Cari Clawson leads the Wildcats with 4,137 assists during her career.

Block Party: Villanova displayed its best blocking effort of the season against St. John's and Connecticut, when the squad tallied 11 and 12 total team blocks, respectively. The 12 blocks against the Huskies marked a season-high for the 'Cats. A host of Wildcats turned in big numbers, including:
Katie Lanting 4 solo, 11 assisted
Erin Birunas 7 assisted
Megan Abbott 5 assisted
Dana Kabashima 5 assisted
Kate Tucker 5 assisted

The Streak: Villanova's nine-match winning streak this season marked the longest unbeaten stretch since the 1997 squad won nine in a row in the middle of its season. The Wildcats went unbeaten this season from Oct. 12 until Nov. 16 when they suffered a 3-1 loss to Connecticut. Their streak included five conference wins and four non-conference victories.