VILLANOVA, Pa. – For the first time in nearly a month, Villanova volleyball will return to the friendly confines of Jake Nevin Field House with a pair of BIG EAST opponents on tap for this weekend.

Villanova (11-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) will host Butler on Friday night before a Saturday evening square off against the Xavier Musketeers.

JAM. THAT. JAKE    
Friday night at the Jake Nevin Field House will mark an annual tradition for Villanova volleyball as it's time for this year's iteration of Jam the Jake. The past three years have all seen upwards of 600 fans jamming "the Jake" for this promotion, and the 'Cats hope 2025 will be no different. Last year's JTJ was the opening home match of the season against Binghamton and saw more than 650 fans in attendance. The 2023 version also featured the Butler Bulldogs as over 700 spectators were on hand to witness that year's, and the season before was a five-set win over Georgetown for Josh Steinbach's 250th career victory in front of 625 people.

UNBEATEN NEAR THE BIG APPLE    
The opening weekend of BIG EAST play featured a pair of Wildcat wins in different fashion, escaping from the New York metropolitan area with a five-set outlasting of St. John's and a quick dispatching of Seton Hall. The 'Cats dominated the Red Storm in every other set on Friday night, winning the first and third before finally blowing out the Johnnies with a 15-6 fifth frame to capture the conference opener. Saturday featured Villanova's quickest match of the year, manhandling the Pirates in straight sets to go 2-0 in the first weekend of the BIG EAST slate for the second straight season.

WILDCATS IN THE NATIONAL STATS    
It's been a high-level offense powering Villanova to the successful start to 2025, leading the BIG EAST in three major attacking categories. The 'Cats are a top 10 team nationally for assists per set (eighth, 13.31), while ranking 16th in kills per set (14.14) and hitting percentage (.289) to lead the league in all three categories. Individually, Campbell McKinnon is the BIG EAST leader and 10th in the nation for hitting percentage (.455) and ended the non-conference slate with the highest clip in the country for players above 100 kills. Abby Harrell is top 70 in the country for points (217.5), total kills (189) and service aces (22), and reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Reagan McGivern sits third in the conference for hitting percentage.

BREAKING DOWN BUTLER

• The Bulldogs have begun the season with a sub-.500 record, owning a 7-8 mark right now with a pair of BIG EAST losses at Xavier and No. 16 Creighton. BU swept its opening weekend and won one matchup each at the next two tournaments before ending the non-conference with a pair of victories.
• Butler is paced by sophomore hitter Alaleh Tolliver who leads the league in total kills (221 with more than four per set), while junior setter Kaylee Finnegan tops the conference in total assists and libero Lauren Evans ranks third in the BIG EAST for digs.
• The all-time series between these two programs is nearly even as the Bulldogs hold a 12-11 advantage over VU despite the 'Cats winning the most recent three and nine of the last 11 since November 2018.

MATCHING UP WITH THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier maintains a 12-2 record to this point of the season with just one loss coming in non-conference and the only other defeat coming at No. 16 Creighton last Friday. X swept all three preseason tournaments with the only defeat being a midweek in-state battle at Cincinnati.
• The Musketeers are led by Emma Grace who's top 10 in the league for both kills and digs per set while both middles (McKinley Boehm and King of Prussia native Margo Kemp) are top 10 in the league for blocks and Macy Hatkevich is fourth in assists per set.
• Villanova's series against Xavier is identical to the one with Butler as the 'Cats trail the Musketeers 12-11, although Villanova won both matchups last year (an October sweep in Cincinnati and four-set W at Nevin in November).

Each matchup will feature stats courtesy of StatBroadcast and streaming available on ESPN+.