Seton Hall University
St. John's
Volleyball Rallies, but Falls Late at St. John's
9/27/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2013
QUEENS, N.Y. - The Seton Hall women's volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit, but ultimately fell to St. John's in five sets, 3-2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 13-15), in the BIG EAST opener for both teams on Friday.
Junior Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) registered her second straight triple-double, and fourth of the season, with a team-high 38 assists to go with 12 kills and 13 digs. Her sister Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) had a double-double with a team-leading 17 kills and 15 digs.
Senior Alyssa Warren (Joilet, Ill.) topped the 20-dig mark for the sixth time this season, finishing with a team-best 26.
Seton Hall (5-7, 0-1) never led in set one. With the score tied at five, St. John's scored four of the next five points to take a 9-6 advantage. After a kill by Simona Sekulova (Auckland, New Zealand) cut the Red Storm lead to two, St. John's went on a 6-1 run to take a commanding 15-8 lead. The Pirates cut the lead to 19-16, but ultimately fell, 25-18, in set one.
A Red Storm service error early in set two gave Seton Hall a 7-4 lead, but St. John's went on a 7-1 run to take an 11-8 advantage. The Pirates rallied and took a 19-16 lead, but four straight points by the Red Storm swung the lead back in their favor, 20-19. A kill by Molly Grammer (Center Valley, Pa.) tied the set at 20, but the Red Storm scored the final five points of the set to win set two, 25-20, and take a commanding two-sets-to-one match lead.
In set three, Seton Hall took a 14-9 lead on a block by Stacey Manthorpe and Amanda Hansen (Pewaukee, Wis.), but St. John's rallied to tie the set at 17. From there, the set was tied four more times. With the score tied at 22, Seton hall took charge, scoring the final three points. Stacey Manthorpe's kill gave Seton Hall a 25-22 set-three victory, and kept the Pirates alive in the match. Stacey had six kills and one block in set three alone.
Riding the momentum of a set three victory, the Pirates stormed out of the break in set four. Seton Hall scored 12 of the first 15 points of the set to take an early 12-3 lead. St. John's cut the lead to 15-10, but the Pirates scored five straight to take a commanding 20-10 lead. The Red Storm rallied again with six straight points to cut the Pirate lead to 20-16, but Seton Hall regrouped and scored five of the next seven points to win set four, 25-18, and tie the best-of-five match at two sets apiece.
In the decisive fifth set, blocks by Stacey Manthorpe and Ashani Rubin (Philadelphia, Pa.) gave Seton Hall an early 4-1 lead. The Pirates extended the lead to 9-4, prompting a St. John's timeout, but the Red Storm responded with a 9-1 run to take a 13-10 advantage. A pair of kills by Shelbey Manthorpe cut the Red Storm lead to 13-12, and Stacey Manthorpe followed with a timely spike to tie the set at 13. St. John's however, scored the final two points on long rallies, and won set five, 15-13, thus winning the match, three-sets-to-two.
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, Oct. 4 when it travels to Cincinnati, Ohio for its first-ever meeting with Xavier. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
