Seton Hall University
St. John's
Volleyball Edged at St. John's, 3-1
10/27/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
With the result, the Pirates and STJ are now even at 5-5 in BIG EAST play. SHU (17-6, 5-5) remains just one win shy of exceeding its 2011 win total, with five matches still to play.
The Red Storm improved to 18-8 overall.
Sophomore Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) picked up her third-straight and 14th double-double of the season, notching a team-high 15 kills to go with 13 digs.
Junior Alyssa Warren (Joliet, Ill.) recorded at least 30 digs for the third consecutive match, finishing with 31 scoops to lead all players on the night. Already in sole possession of second place on the school's all-time digs list, Warren is now just two shy of 1,600 for her career.
The Hall struggled offensively at the outset, unable to find an attacking rhythm in the first frame. Despite recording just 12 kills against 11 errors as a team, the Pirates managed to push St. John's to the limit in a set that featured nine ties and five lead changes, but ultimately fell, 23-25.
The Pirates came out on fire in the second set and never trailed on their way to a convincing 25-15 set victory. SHU put together a deadeye attacking effort in the frame, collecting 14 kills and only three errors in 30 attacks. Their .367 hitting percentage was the highest for either team in any set while STJ connected at a -.024 (nine kills, 10 errors) clip.
The third set was a defensive battle as neither team managed a hitting percentage over .120. Each team set a match-high for attacks in a set that saw five tie scores and the lead change hands on three occasions. In the end, the Red Storm squeaked out a 25-22 win to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
In what turned out to be the final set, St. John's was boosted by their most accurate offensive effort of the night. 18 of the Red Storm's points came via kills as the home team committed only three errors to edge SHU 25-22 for the second straight set and take the match.
Sophomore Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) dished out over 30 assists for the fourth time in five matches, finishing with 31 to tie with Sabina Piegza of St. John's for the highest total on the night. The second-year setter also had eight kills, matching senior Morgan DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich.) for the second-highest total on the team.
DeVries was the Pirates' most efficient offensive presence, needing just 19 attacks to record eight kills and committing just two errors. The veteran middle blocker also recorded a team-best five rejections.
Senior setter Olivia Trudeau (Shell Beach, Calif.) turned in her 12th double-digit assist performance of the year, ending the night with 12 helpers.
Seton Hall will conclude the brief two-match road swing when they take on Connecticut on Sunday afternoon in Storrs. Match-time is set for 2:00 p.m.
