Pirates Drop Four-Set Match at Villanova

Friday, November 3

Villanova, PA

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

14-13, 8-6BIG EAST

Villanova

15-9, 8-5BIG EAST

Seton Hall

Villanova

11/3/2017 9:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

VILLANOVA, PA. – Junior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and Sharay Barnes (Swarthmore, Pa.) combined for 22 kills and only seven errors, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team lost at Villanova, 3-1 (12-25, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25) on Friday.

The loss enables Villanova to temporarily hop Seton Hall in the BIG EAST standings into fourth place. Only the top four teams in the final standings will qualify for the BIG EAST Championship following completion of the regular season.

SET 1:
Villanova dominated the opening set and never trailed. A kill by Dominique Mason (Chicago, Ill.) tied the set at three, but then the Wildcats erupted for a 14-2 run, which prompted a Seton Hall timeout and gave Villanova a commanding 17-5 lead. The Wildcats went on to a 25-12 first set victory as the Pirates had an attack percentage of just -.032.

SET 2:
The second set was significantly closer with the teams combining for 13 ties and seven lead changes. Trailing 15-11, Seton Hall went on a 6-1 run, and a kill by freshman Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) gave the Pirates a 17-16 advantage and prompted a Villanova timeout. With the score tied at 19, the Wildcats scored five of the next seven points to enter set point, 24-21. The Hall staved off two set points, put ultimately fell, 25-23, in set two.

SET 3:
Seton Hall roared back in the third set, thanks to a .375 attack percentage. With the score tied at 20, the Pirates scored three of the next four points, and a kill by Thelen gave them a 23-21 advantage. Villanova however, bounced back with the next two points to tie the set at 23 and prompt a Seton Hall timeout. Out of the break, another kill by Thelen put The Hall in set point, and a Wildcat attack error handed set three to the Pirates, 25-23.

SET 4:
With the score tied at 12 in set four, Villanova went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding 20-13 lead and never looked back. The Pirates cut the deficit to five points, but ultimately fell, 25-17.

Inside the Numbers:

Thelen finished with a team-high 12 kills and only three attack errors.
Barnes had 10 kills and only four attack errors.
Senior Sarah Kenneweg (Poolesville, Md.) had a team-high 15 digs to go with five assists.
Seton Hall recorded a .176 attack percentage for the match, while Villanova attacked at .318.
The Hall had 47 team kills, while Villanova had 66.
The Pirates totaled 56 team digs, while Villanova had 63.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 14-13 overall and 8-6 in the BIG EAST.
Seton Hall improves to 15-12 overall and 9-5 in the BIG EAST.
Despite splitting the season series, with both teams winning a match in four sets, Villanova has earned the head-to-head tie-breaker by virtue of having scored the most points in the two matches this season.
The Pirates fall to 5-6 on the road this season.
Kenneweg needs just 28 digs to enter Seton Hall's career top-10. With 15 digs tonight, she has 1,044 for her career. Former Pirate Caroline Kaufmann is 10^th with 1,071.
Coffey played in her 88^th consecutive match, which leads all active Pirates.
The Pirates fall to 16-26 all-time against Villanova.

Up Next:
The Pirates will return to action tomorrow when it travels to Washington, D.C. for a match against Georgetown. Match time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.