Seton Hall University
Xavier
Volleyball Shocks Xavier, 3-1, for 9th Straight
10/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BOX SCORE (.html) | BOX SCORE (.pdf)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - Sophomore Tessa Fournier (Redondo Beach, Calif.) recorded a career-high 28 digs as the Seton Hall volleyball team won its ninth straight match with a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21) victory at Xavier on Saturday.
In the last week, Seton Hall, which was predicted to finish sixth in the 10-team BIG EAST, has defeated St. John's, the fifth place team, Butler, the fourth place team, and now Xavier, the third place team. The Pirates improve to 15-3 overall and a perfect 5-0 in conference play. It's the first time they've won their first five conference matches in program history.
In a match between two of the better defensive teams in the BIG EAST, the teams combined for 160 digs in just four sets, with Seton Hall registering 83. Fournier had a match-high 28 digs to go with eight assists, narrowly missing her first career double-double. In all, five Pirates reached double-figures in digs.
Reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.), recorded a double-double with team-high 42 assists to go with 11 digs. Her sister Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) also registered a double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs.
Set one proved to be the closest set of the match, featuring 14 ties and five lead changes. With the set knotted at 11, Xavier took control with a 5-1 run to take a 16-12 lead. Seton Hall roared back with a 6-2 run to tie the set at 18. Trailing 21-20, the Pirates ended the set with five of the last six points to win set one, 25-22. Danielle Schroeder (Chicago, Ill.) had a team-best four kills in set one. She finished the match with 11 kills.
Determined to tie the match at one set apiece, Xavier took an early 8-4 lead in set two and never looked back. Seton Hall rallied to tie the set at 14, but the Musketeers scored the next six points to take a commanding 20-14 advantage. The Hall cut the lead to 22-20, but didn't score again as Xavier won set two, 25-20. Seton Hall scored on a match-low .122 of their attacks in set two, while Xavier had a match-high .256.
The pivotal set three was also extremely close with the teams playing to 12 ties. Seton Hall used a balanced offense in the third frame with six Pirates notching at least two kills, but none had more than three. With the score tied at 19, Seton Hall scored four straight points and a kill by Molly Grammer (Center Valley, Pa.) gave the Pirates a commanding 23-19 lead. A kill by Schroeder put The Hall in set point and a Xavier service error gave set three to the Pirates, 25-22.
Grammer finished the match with a team-high 12 kills.
The Musketeers took an early 3-1 lead to begin set four, but the Pirates responded with six straight points to jump ahead, 7-5, and Xavier played catch-up for the rest of the set. A kill by Amanda Hansen (Pewaukee, Wis.) extended the Pirates' lead to 14-9. From there, Xavier never got closer than three points. Schroeder's kill put Seton Hall in match point and blocks by Stacey Manthorpe and Ashani Rubin (Philadelphia, Pa.) ended set four in The Hall's favor, 25-21, and completed a 3-1 match win.
Ten of Fournier's team-high 28 digs were recorded in set four alone.
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, October 10 when it hosts preseason favorite Creighton. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
