Seton Hall University
DePaul
Volleyball Outlasts DePaul to Clinch Berth
11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BOX SCORE (.html) | BOX SCORE (.pdf) 
The victory guarantees Seton Hall placement in the conference's top-four, which will compete in Milwaukee, Wis., Nov. 28-29, for the BIG EAST championship. It'll be the Pirates first trip to the tournament since 2011, and it's their first berth in the semifinals since 1994.
Fournier, the BIG EAST leader in digs and digs per set, tied Alyssa Warren's record with 45 digs. Senior Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) recorded a career-high 66 assists, a mark that ties for seventh on Seton Hall's single-match list. She also had eight digs and seven kills.
Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) notched her team-best 20th double-double of the season with a match-high 22 kills to go with 16 digs.
DePaul (3-26, 1-16) played tough in set one, keeping the score close throughout. With the score tied at 16, Seton Hall scored five of the next six points to take a 21-17 advantage. With The Hall holding on to a 23-20 lead, Stacey Manthorpe closed the set with two kills to give set one to the Pirates, 25-21. The teams combined for nine ties and four lead changes in what was easily the closest set of the short match. Stacey Manthorpe, Amanda Hansen (Pewaukee, Wis.) and Molly Grammer (Center Valley, Pa.) all had five kills for the Pirates in set one.
The Pirates (25-6, 13-3) scored five of the first six points to grab an early 5-1 advantage in set two. DePaul rallied however, and used a 7-0 run to take a 13-10 lead. The Hall scored four straight points, capped by a Stacey Manthorpe kill which tied the score at 18. Block assists by Grammer and Ashani Rubin (Philadelphia, Pa.) gave Seton Hall a 24-22 lead, but DePaul answered with three straight points to take a 25-24 advantage. Grammer kept Seton Hall alive with a kill to tie the set at 25. Seton Hall staved off another DePaul set point and then grabbed set point of its own at 27-26. But the Pirates couldn't get the final point they needed. The Blue Demons scored the final three points of the set to tie the match with a 29-17 set two victory.
DePaul jumped out to an 8-5 lead and maintained a slim advantage for much of set three. With the Blue Demons leading 23-20, Seton Hall scored three straight to finally tie the score. Block assists by Grammer and Hansen put the Pirates in set point, but DePaul scored the last three points of the set to win set three, 26-24. Seton Hall's defense failed them again as DePaul was able to attack at a .302 percentage in set three.
Set four was all Seton Hall as the Blue Demons never led. The Pirates started strong again, jumping out to a 9-3 lead and never looked back. Ahead 13-6, DePaul quickly scored four straight to cut the Pirate lead to 13-10. But DePaul didn't get any closer than the three point deficit for the remainder of the set. A block by Danielle Schroeder (Chicago, Ill.) extended the Pirates advantage to six at 19-13. With the Pirates comfortably ahead 21-16, they closed the set with four of the last five points to win, 25-17, and even the match at two sets apiece.
The Pirates' defense in set four was their reason for excellence. Fournier had 15 digs in set four alone as The Hall held the Blue Demons to an attack percentage of just .085.
With the match evened up, Seton Hall cruised to a set five victory. The Pirates raced out to a 6-1 lead and led 8-3 as the teams switched sides. Leading 9-5, The Hall scored six unanswered and Fournier's ace put the Pirates in match point, 14-5. After a pair of DePaul points, Schroeder ended the match with a kill.
In all, four players reached double-figures in kills. Joining Stacey Manthorpe, Hansen tallied 15, Grammer had 12 and Schroeder had 10 kills.
Following the match, six graduating seniors, both Manthorpes, Rubin, Sam Duncan (Tucson, Ariz.), Jamie Froning (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Simona Sekulova (Auckland, New Zealand), were honored for their contributions to the program.
Seton Hall will return to the court on Friday, Nov. 21 when it travels to Georgetown. Match time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
