New for the 2025-26 academic year, Villanova will announce its top performers from the previous week in a press release and social media post each Monday or Tuesday afternoon. The weekly wrap will recognize one standout student-athlete from each sport who competed during the previous week.
  
VILLANOVA, Pa.—The Fall sports season started to round into full swing last week with six teams in action, highlighted by the volleyball team sweeping its first two matches of the season and winning the Catholic Challenge at Notre Dame. Junior outside hitter Abby Harrell (Ellensburg, Wash.) was named the MVP of the tournament and leads the way on this week's edition of the Villanova weekly wrap.
 
Junior forward Sam Nyenka (Lower Merion, Pa.) from men's soccer earns his second straight selection, while the rest of the weekly wrap features graduate forward Ava Borkowski (Conshohocken, Pa.) from field hockey, women's soccer senior goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson (Seattle, Wash.), junior men's cross country runner CJ Sullivan (Milton, Mass.) and graduate student Lizzie Martell (Essex Junction, Vt.) from women's cross country.
 
Top Performers of the Week
 
Volleyball
Abby Harrell (Junior, Outside Hitter, Ellensburg, Wash.)
 
Harrell was on fire through the first two matches of the season and totaled a team-high 34 kills to earn MVP honors at the Catholic Challenge hosted by Notre Dame. She delivered 16 kills without a single attack error in a sweep of Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon before another big effort in a win over the Fighting Irish when she totaled 18 kills, 11 digs and three service aces. Harrell attacked at a .377 clip for the weekend and garnered her second career All-Tournament Team honor, both of which have come at the Catholic Challenge.
 
Men's Soccer
Sam Nyenka (Junior, Forward, Lower Merion, Pa.)
 
A hot start to the 2025 season continued for Nyenka in a 1-0 shutout of Saint Joseph's on September 1. He netted the game-winning goal and only marker of the contest with a mere 29 seconds remaining a Villanova (2-0-1) stayed unbeaten through its first three games. Nyenka – profiled on villanova.com last week – has three goals on the year, including the game-winning tallies in Wildcats wins over Rider and Saint Joseph's.
 
Women's Soccer
Hannah Dickinson (Senior, Goalkeeper, Seattle, Wash.)
 
Dickinson has posted three consecutive clean sheets after Villanova recorded shutout victories over George Mason and Bucknell last week. She made two saves in each win and improved her season marks to a 0.80 goals-against average and a .789 save percentage. Dickinson and the Wildcats have won three straight games and carry a winning record (3-2) into the coming week.
 
Men's Cross Country
CJ Sullivan (Junior, Milton, Mass.)
 
Sullivan and sophomore Charlie Moore posted virtually identical times of 18:11.1 in the Wildcats first race of the season at the Lehigh Invitational. The pair were the top two finishers out of 73 runners in the 6,000- meter race and Sullivan claimed his first cross country individual victory in a Villanova singlet.
 
Women's Cross Country
Lizzie Martell (Graduate, Essex Junction, Vt.)
 
In the 2025 season opener, Martell led the Wildcats with a runner-up finish at the Temple Invitational. She covered the 4,000-meter course in 14:46.8 in her official Villanova cross country debut after competing unattached in her first season on the Main Line last Fall.
 
Field Hockey
Ava Borkowski (Graduate, Forward, Conshohocken, Pa.)
 
Borkowski scored both Villanova goals in the season opener against James Madison with tallies in the 28^th minute and the 45^th minute, the latter tying the game at 2-2 just before the end of the third quarter. It was the fourth career multi-goal game for Borkowski, who has netted 12 goals in 19 games played in a Wildcats uniform.
 
Villanova Scoreboard
 
Thursday, August 28
 
WSOC: Villanova 2, George Mason 0
MSOC: Villanova 1, Iona 1
 
Friday, August 29
 
FH: James Madison 3, Villanova 2
WXC: Temple Invitational (1^st of 7)
MXC: Lehigh Invitational (3^rd of 6)
 
Saturday, August 30
 
VB: Villanova 3, Santa Clara 0
 
Sunday, August 31
 
VB: Villanova 3, Notre Dame 2
WSOC: Villanova 1, Bucknell 0
FH: No. 4 Maryland 4, Villanova 0
 
Monday, September 1
 
MSOC: Villanova 1, Saint Joseph's 0
 
Up Next
 
Home events in bold
 
Wednesday, September 3
 
6:00 PM – Volleyball at Binghamton
 
Friday, September 5
 
4:00 PM – Field Hockey at Fairfield
7:00 PM – Volleyball vs. Yale
7:00 PM – Men's Soccer at Columbia
 
Saturday, September 6
 
4:00 PM – Volleyball vs. Fairfield
6:00 PM – Football vs. Colgate
All Day – Golf at Alex Lagowitz Memorial
 
Sunday, September 7
 
2:00 PM – Volleyball vs. High Point
4:00 PM – Women's Soccer vs. Lehigh
All Day – Golf at Alex Lagowitz Memorial