Pirates Travel to Villanova, GTown This Weekend

Jake Nevin Field House – Villanova, Pa.

SETON HALL (14-12, 8-5) at VILLANOVA (14-9, 7-5)

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Time

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Friday, Nov. 3

7:00 PM ET

Nova Nation All-Access

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McDonough Arena – Washington, D.C.

SETON HALL (14-12, 8-5) at GEORGETOWN (7-17, 1-11)

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Saturday, Nov. 4

6:00 PM ET

GU HoyasVideo

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PREVIEW
Seton Hall will head back on the road this weekend for a pair of BIG EAST Conference matches. On Friday, the Pirates will travel Villanova for contest with major BIG EAST Tournament implications. Match time is 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, The Hall will head to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with Georgetown at 6:00 p.m.

LAST WEEKEND
Last weekend, the Pirates split a pair of BIG EAST Conference matches at Walsh Gym. On Friday, The Hall defeated DePaul in straight sets, completing the season sweep of the Blue Demons. Senior Dominique Mason (Chicago, Ill.) had a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs in only three sets. Junior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had 11 kills. Junior Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) narrowly missed a double-double with 16 assists and nine digs.

On Saturday, the Pirates put forth one of their best performances of the season in a hard-fought, five-set loss to Marquette. Only two of the five sets were determined by more than two points, with the epic second set resulting in a 35-33 Seton Hall win. Sharay Barnes (Swarthmore, Pa.) erupted for a season-high 21 kills, with only four attack errors. Thelen had 20 kills and only four attack errors. Coffey had a double-double with 31 assists and 18 digs. Sophomore Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) missed her career-high in assists by only one, finishing with 28.

For her efforts last week, Barnes was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Tuesday.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
Seton Hall and Villanova will meet for the 42^nd time in history on Friday, and the Pirates will be looking for the season sweep. The Wildcats have won 25 of the prior 41 meetings, but the Pirates have won the last two, including a contest at Walsh Gym earlier this season.

On Oct. 11, Seton Hall downed Villanova in four sets in South Orange. The Pirates had a .273 attack percentage and four individuals reached double-figures in kills. Barnes led the way with 17 kills, while Thelen had 16. Combined, they had only four attack errors. Mason had a double-double with 12 kills and 21 digs. Coffey had a double-double with 31 assists and 11 digs. Mallory Potts led Villanova with 19 kills.

The contest has major BIG EAST Tournament implications since Seton Hall leads Villanova by only a half game in the standings entering the weekend.

Creighton	11-1
Marquette	11-2
Butler	9-4
SETON HALL	8-5
Villanova	7-5

A victory at Villanova would give Seton Hall the all-important tie-breaker should the teams finished tied in the final standings. Only the top four teams will qualify for the year-end event in Milwaukee. If Villanova wins, the tie-breaker would go to the team that won in fewer sets. The Pirates won on Oct. 11 in four sets, so if Villanova sweeps this weekend, they would get the tie-breaker. If the Wildcats win in five, the tie-breaker goes to Seton Hall. If Villanova wins in four, like the Pirates did, the tie-breaker would be determined by total number of points won in the two-game series.

Since winning seven out of eight matches, Villanova has dropped their last two. Last weekend, the Wildcats lost in five sets in Indianapolis against Butler before being upset in four sets in Cincinnati against Xavier. Villanova has played exceptionally well at home so far this year, sporting an 8-1 record at Jake Nevin Field House.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
Seton Hall and Georgetown will meet for the 39^th time in history on Friday, and the Pirates will be looking for the season sweep. The Hoyas have won 22 of the prior 38 meetings, but the Pirates have won seven of the last eight matches. Earlier this season, the Pirates defeated Georgetown in four sets in Walsh Gym.

On Oct. 4, Seton Hall overcame a second set loss to down the Hoyas in four sets. The Pirates hit .310 as a team and got strong efforts from Thelen and Mason. Thelen had a match-high 18 kills, only one attack error and an attack percentage of .500. Mason had 14 kills and six digs. Sophomore Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) totaled eight digs and a team-best six blocks.

Georgetown enters the weekend with a 7-17 record overall and a 1-11 mark in BIG EAST Conference play. The Hoyas have dropped nine straight matches, including a pair last weekend in the mid-west. Georgetown lost on Friday in straight sets at Xavier, and on Sunday in five sets at Butler.