By: Isabel Smith ~Staff Writer~

Xavier women’s volleyball team had back-to-back matches as the regular season nears its end. The Musketeers battled two of their conference rivals, falling to Creighton and defeating a struggling Georgetown team.

Sitting atop the Big East standings, the Creighton Blue Jays came to Cintas on Nov. 7 to face the Musketeers.

The Blue Jays came out on top in the match (3-1) that was two points shy of heading into a fifth and decisive set.

Both the first and second sets started out close but resulted in Creighton eventually capturing and holding onto the lead and winning the sets 25-17 and 25-15.

There were 11 ties in set three. The last tie occurred at 14 points when the Muskies took the lead and eventually won the third frame 25-19.

Xavier continued its strong performance into the fourth set and created three five-point spreads. The Blue Jays eventually found the momentum to carry the team to victory and won the closely contested set 25-23.

Following the competitive match against elite Big East competition, the Musketeers were eager to face their next opponent at home.

The Georgetown Hoyas arrived at Cintas on Nov. 8 after a loss to Butler in Indianapolis the previous day.

Xavier found a 10-3 lead early in the set before finally taking the first frame 25-14. Both freshman Kristen Massa and senior Aubree Smith had five kills, contributing to the team’s .464 hitting percentage in the initial set.

The Hoyas put up a fight in the beginning of the second set coming within two points of the lead. The Muskies eventually took a 25-15 victory.

The third and closest set found Georgetown with their only two leads of the match. The Hoyas came alarmingly close to a win at 24-23 before Xavier rallied and had consecutive kills to seal the deal, 26-24.

Sophomore Abbey Bessler’s killer performance against Georgetown helped her record her 14th double-double of the year. Also, redshirt senior Alex Blair, Massa and Smith all hit over .500 in the win.

The Musketeers return to action in Indianapolis on Nov. 14, against the Butler Bulldogs.
Xavier is eyeing the Butler Bulldogs, who stand at fourth in the Big East.

The top four teams head to the Big East Championship. The Bulldogs (10-5) hold a one-game advantage over the Musketeers (9-6).

Each team has just three more games left in the season to earn its chance to head to the conference championship