Sept. 9, 2003

VILLANOVA, PA. - Week 3 Game Notes

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Court Check: The Wildcats posted their first two wins of the season, going 2-1 at the George Washington Invitational in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 5-6. Villanova fell to host George Washington, 3-0, on Friday before rebounding with identical 3-0 sweeps of Coppin State and Lafayette on Saturday. The Wildcats improved to 2-4 on the season entering this week of play.

All-Tournament Tandem: Freshman Adrian Semrau (Grafton, Ohio/Midview) and sophomore Celine Nguyen (Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) both earned All-Tournament honors at the George Washington Invitational. Semrau finished with 14 kills and six blocks in Friday's match before sitting out of Saturday's action. Nguyen again showed her versatility, tallying 24 kills, 24 digs, two assists and one block in three matches.

Road Warriors: After completing this week's scheduled matches, the Wildcats will have played nine straight road matches to open the season, making it the longest road trip to start a year since 1997 when the team also opened with nine away contests. During the current stretch, Villanova has traveled 2,029 miles, including 1,738 miles via air to Boulder, Colorado.

Masters of the Middle: Middle blockers Kerri Sullivan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) and Katie Lanting (Loveland, Colo./Alexander Dawson) played their best volleyball of the young season at George Washington. Sullivan racked up 39 points on the weekend with 31 kills, five service aces and four blocks. Lanting led the squad with nine service aces to go along with 23 kills and five blocks.

Taking A Look at Temple: After advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2002, Temple enters the week with an 0-5 record. The Owls suffered three losses at the hands of three ranked opponents at the Buckeye Classic over the weekend. No. 12 Georgia Tech and No. 20 North Carolina both shut out the Owls, while No. 18 Ohio State posted the 3-1 win. Sophomore Jessica Buynovsky and rookie Jessica Waybrant lead the Temple attack with 53 and 43 kills, respectively. Junior setter Alison Runk has tallied 153 of the Owls' 178 assists on the season, while also registering a team-high 13 blocks. Bob Bertucci enters his ninth season as head coach of the Owls.

Outlook On Oregon: The Ducks enter the week with a 2-3 record after losing to Rutgers, James Madison and Georgia Southern over the weekend. Sophomore setter Jodi Bell sets up the offense. On the Oregon attack are junior outside hitter Lauren Westendorf and sophomore middle blocker Kelly Russell, who each average more than three kills per game. Carl Ferreira enters his fourth season as head coach of the Ducks.

Checking Out Colorado: The Buffs enter the week with a 6-1 record after beating Central Florida, Illinois State and Denver over the weekend. Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Carr has already amassed 102 kills, while junior Allison Barnes has tallied 250 assists in the young season. Senior Monique Gerlach and sophomore Allie Griffin handle the blocking duties with 26 and 25 blocks, respectively. Head coach Pi'i Aiu is in his seventh season at Colorado.

Stats Stop: With a glance at the updated Big East statistics, three Villanova players rank among the leaders. After nine service aces in three matches over the weekend, junior Katie Lanting (Loveland, Colo./Alexander Dawson) stands fifth in the conference with an average of 0.62 per game. Two Wildcats sit in the top 10 in digs, as sophomore Dana Kabashima (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica) averages 3.93 per game and junior Jennifer Badran-Grycan (Santa Monica, Calif./Palisades) averages 3.38 a game. As a team, Villanova is third with 44 service aces and fourth with 299 digs in 18 games.

Helping Hand: Villanova senior Jennifer Edwards (Valencia, Calif./Valencia) has climbed to No. 5 on the Wildcats' career assist leaders, after amassing 2,096 assists in 311 games over her career. She is 73 helpers shy of Stacey Moline (2,169) for fourth place on the all-time list. Cari Clawson leads the Wildcats with 4,137 assists during her career. First Impressions: All four Villanova freshmen made solid contributions at the Maryland Invitational. Along with Semrau's All-Tournament performance, outside hitter Kelly Ludwig (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Ramapo) finished second on the Wildcats with seven blocks and setter Jen Lalli (Media, Pa./Penncrest) tallied a teamhigh 38 assists. Jessica Hoover (Highland Park, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) registered eight kills and eight digs to cap the rookie contributions.

Home Court Advantage: Half of the Wildcats' victories during the 2002 season came in the friendly confines of Jake Nevin Field House. The Wildcats posted nine wins on the board at home, compared to just three defeats. Villanova will welcome 12 opponents to the Main Line during the 2003 season.