Not only will the Seton Hall volleyball be returning standout players such as junior Meghan Matusiak and sophomore Hannah Hugeback, but they will also be adding five new recruits who committed to the Hall during the fall and spring semesters.
The Pirates finished with a 7-7 conference record and qualified for the Big East tournament this past season.
The 2011 recruiting class is headlined by Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.). Manthorpe, a 6-foot-1 setter who played at Merion Mercy Academy, was named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year in December for both her athletic excellence as well as her academic achievement.
Manthorpe led Merion Mercy to a 40-0 record and a Class AA title in her senior season. She was named the MVP of the Class AA state tournament for the second consecutive year. For the season, Manthorpe compiled 972 assists, 568 digs, 280 kills and 133 service aces.
"Shelbey is the best recruit I've ever gotten," head coach Kris Zeiter said. "She's six-feet tall, left handed, I think she's one of the top setters in the class. She was an All-American at the Junior Olympics last year and her team finished second in the highest level, she just led her team to a championship at the Big South qualifier in Atlanta and then again at the Baltimore Northeast qualifier."
Joining Shelbey at Seton Hall will be her twin sister Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.).
"Stacey is going to be able to contribute in a number of different ways right away," Zeiter said. "She's big, physical and I expect her to be really good."
The Pirates also landed Olivia Desormey (St. Charles, Ill.), a middle blocker who plays for Club Fusion in Chicago.
"She [Olivia] is going to definitely contribute right away," Zeiter said. "She is going to challenge to start and I would imagine she will play a pretty significant amount of time this coming year."
Rounding out the Pirates 2011 recruiting class are two players who will be walk-ons in their first year on campus.
Both Sam Duncan (Tucson, Ariz.), a setter, and Jamie Froning (Huntington Beach, Calif.), a hitter, are expected to begin the season coming off the bench, but will be given an opportunity to contribute and work their way into the starting lineup, according to Zeiter.
Even though the Pirates lost Sarah Osmun, who owns the school record for kills, to graduation, Zeiter feels that expectations have never been higher and his team is ready to compete with the best that the Big East has to offer.
"Our goal is to finish in the top four during the regular season and win the Big East tournament," Zeiter said. "We think we're at a level now where we should be one of the top teams in the Big East and we should be competing for a Big East Championship. That's our expectation now and that's where our expectations are going to stay."
John Valentovic can be reached at john.valentovic@student.shu.edu
