Villanova women's volleyball picked up its first two Big East wins of the season with back-to-back sweeps at Jake Nevin Field House.
Junior middle blocker Campbell McKinnon posted 13 kills in each match as the Wildcats beat Providence 3-0 on Friday, Oct. 2 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) and UConn 3-0 on Saturday, Oct. 3 (25-20, 25-19, 25-19), as first reported by The Villanovan. The wins moved Villanova to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in Big East play after the team opened conference action with losses to Butler and Xavier the previous weekend.
McKinnon, a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big East Team from Collierville, Tennessee, set the tone early in both matches. Against Providence, she helped the Wildcats jump to a 4-0 lead in the third set, and Taylor Lewis added a solo block to hold off the Friars' rally. Entering the weekend, McKinnon led Villanova with 160 kills and 53 blocks on the season, ranking second in the Big East in kills per set at 4.00 in conference play, according to a Providence scouting report.
The UConn match tested Villanova's composure. The Huskies grabbed a 9-4 lead in the second set before head coach Josh Steinbach called a timeout.
"Anytime I see something that I don't feel like is in character or normal for us, we want to stop and see if we can reset," Steinbach said.
The Wildcats responded. They erased the deficit and won the set 25-19, with setter Alyssa Nelson closing it out. Villanova cruised through the third set to complete the sweep.
Senior outside hitter Abby Harrell, the Preseason Big East Player of the Year, missed the UConn match due to illness. Junior Cat Young filled in and finished with seven kills. Steinbach said after the Oct. 3 match that the team served better against UConn and was stronger offensively, but he wants the defense to improve heading into the DePaul and Marquette matches.
Villanova entered the season ranked second in the Big East preseason coaches' poll behind unanimous No. 1 Creighton, according to conference match notes. The Wildcats are undefeated at home this season at 4-0.
The team heads on the road for its next two matches: at DePaul in Chicago on Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. and at Marquette in Milwaukee on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m.
