The Pirates' went on the road this weekend and left with a 2-2 Big East record after losing to Syracuse on Sunday, 1-3, and defeating Marquette, 3-1, on Friday.
They are now 8-12 overall.
"We had a chance to win both games," head coach Kris Zeiter said. "If we could've went 1-1 I'd be pretty happy."
Seton Hall began Sunday by jumping out to a 17-12 first set lead. The closest Syracuse came to catching up was when they trailed 23-22, but following Syracuse senior Sarah Morton's service error, the Pirates took the first set, 25-23.
In the second set, the Hall gained a 17-15 lead behind a kill by freshman Morgan DeVries.
However, Syracuse took a 21-20 advantage after a block by freshman Samantha Hinz. The Hall answered with two consecutive kills courtesy of sophomore Krissy Wrobel.
However, Syracuse senior Annabelle Pellerin was able to help her team out with a spike, which then led to set point.
Syracuse missed their chance to win the set on another block from DeVries.
Following a Seton Hall timeout, the score was tied at 25-25 but a Hall attack error and a block by Syracuse senior Annabelle Pellerin gave them the set.
Syracuse did not slow down in the next set, as they started on a 4-1 run and jumped out to a 13-7 lead. The Hall responded with a 9-2 run of their own to gain a 16-15 lead. Back and forth play had the game tied at 14-14.
Coming off of a stint on last week's Big East Weekly Honor Roll, sophomore Meghan Matusiak continued her strong play as she delivered 17 kills and five blocks in the match.
"She's picked it up a lot and is a big time hitter," Zeiter said. "She is doing a good job and it's nice to see her progression."
Senior Allie Matters extended her nation leading double-digit dig streak to 57 games.
"Matters is the motor that makes us go," Zeiter said. "When she plays well, they all play well."
On Friday, the Marquette Golden Eagles hosted the Hall in their Big East home opener. The Pirates fell behind early, 12-8, before calling a time out. The Golden Eagles then started to pull away, quickly extending their lead to 21-17. When it came to set point, Golden Eagle redshirt freshman Holly Mertens ended the first set on a spike.
The Pirates came back strong in the next set and pulled ahead to a 13-10 lead.
Marquette scored the next two points but behind a kill by Wrobel, the Hall went on a 7-0 run, and took the set 25-15.
Marquette did not lead once in the set.
For the second straight set the Pirates jumped out to an early lead, as they quickly went ahead 10-5. The Hall extended their lead to 17-9. Marquette answered back by going on an 8-2 run and came within two points of the lead, but the Pirates were able to hold on and win the set 25-18.
In the fourth set, Marquette rallied to a 15-10 lead with the help of two kills from sophomore Ashley Beyer. An ace from senior Hailey Viola extended Marquette's lead to 18-12 and they eventually took the set, 25-20.
In the fifth and final set, the Hall and Marquette went back and forth to open the set, tying each other four times early on before the Pirates went on a 3-0 run to build an 11-8 lead. Kills by DeVries and junior Sarah Osmun helped the Hall go on a 7-2 as the won the match.
The Pirates play next on Friday Oct. 9, when they travel to Pennsylvania to face 12-6 Villanova.
"It's going to be a hard match, they are a lot like we are," Zeiter said. "They play hard all the time and try to keep the ball in play just like us."
Villanova will look to bounce back from two consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Deleware, while the Hall will try to win consecutive Big East games for the first time this season.
Nicholas Parco can be reached at nicholas.parco@student.shu.edu.
