Seton Hall University
Providence
Fournier, Volleyball Sweep Providence, 3-0
11/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BOX SCORE (.html) | BOX SCORE (.pdf)
The victory is the Pirates' third straight and improves their impressive overall record to 22-6 and their BIG EAST mark to 10-3. It's the first time in program history that Seton Hall has reached double-figures in conference wins.
Joining Fournier in the night's superlatives was senior Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.), who notched her team-leading 18th double-double of the season with a match-high 14 kills to go along with 13 digs. Her sister Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) had a match-high 33 assists, eight digs, six kills and five blocks in a strong all-around match.
Junior Molly Grammer (Center Valley, Pa.) was a stud offensively, recording 10 kills and just one attack error for a team-best .500 attack percentage.
The match didn't begin as the Pirates facing a 4-20 team may have expected. Seton Hall was very error-prone early in the first set, which led the Friars to a surprising 12-6 lead. Providence was the first team to 20 points as Kelly Ashmore's ace gave them a 20-17 advantage. A kill by Providence's Abbie Trzeciak put the Friars in set point at 24-21, but Seton Hall didn't go away. A kill by Ashani Rubin (Philadelphia, Pa.) gave The Hall their 22nd point. Then, Rubin and Stacey Manthorpe added block assists to cut the Pirates' deficit to one, which prompted a Friars' timeout. Out of the break, a PC attack error tied the set at 24. With the score tied at 25, kills by Grammer and Shelbey Manthorpe gave the Pirates a come-from-behind, 27-25, set one victory.
Seton Hall's comeback win in set one appeared to devastate the Friars as Providence didn't put up much of a fight in set two. The Pirates used a 5-0 early run to take a 10-3 lead and never looked back. The Friars cut the Seton Hall lead to five points at 13-8, but the Pirates responded with 10 unanswered points to put the set out of reach, 23-8. The Hall cruised to a 25-10 set two victory to claim a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. The Pirates recorded a match-high .325 attack percentage in set two, compared to -.061 for the Friars.
Set three was much closer early on, but the Pirates pulled away late. Clinging to a 9-8 lead, Seton Hall burst out with a 6-1 run to take a 15-9 advantage. The Pirates' lead grew to as many as 10 when a bad set by Providence's Marina Rose extended The Hall's advantage to 23-13. Another kill by Grammer put Seton Hall in match point, 24-14, and a kill by Simona Sekulova (Auckland, New Zealand) ended the set in the Pirates' favor, 25-15, to clinch the match, 3-0.
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 8 when it hosts Villanova at Walsh Gym. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
