Last season, head coach Kris Zeiter and the Pirates lost at Hofstra, a loss that Zeiter still remembers.
"We were pretty ticked off about that one," recalled the coach.
This year was an entirely different story.
Senior Meghan Matusiak posted a team-high 14 kills to go along with 3 assists, 5 digs and a team-high 6 blocks to lead Seton Hall to a 3-0 sweep of the Pride at Walsh Gym Tuesday night (25-22, 25-18, 25-11).
"(Matusiak) always posts the double-figure kills," Zeiter said following the win. "She's one of the best players in the Big East."
Freshmen sisters Stacey and Shelbey Manthorpe also played well for the Hall; Stacey was second on the team with 8 kills, while Shelbey contributed with 7 kills and a team-high 22 assists, as well as 9 digs.
"Shelbey's size makes her a very special player for her position. She's left-handed and can attack as well. And Stacey's really developing into one of our better outside hitters as well," Zeiter said of the duo.
Up front, senior Krissy Wrobel registered 5 blocks while freshman Ashani Rubin had 4 along with 2 kills. On the back line, the Hall got 22 digs from sophomore libero Alyssa Warren (a team-high), and 14 from junior Olivia Trudeau as the Pirates stuffed the stat sheet.
In the first set, Seton Hall jumped out to an 8-1 lead, including two kills from Matusiak, before Hofstra was able to rally back to take a one-point lead at 17-16. The two teams traded points before two errors by the Pride allowed the Pirates to take the set on a kill by Stacey Manthorpe.
In the second set, the Hall jumped out in front again 9-3 thanks to three blocks from Wrobel. Following a Hofstra timeout, the Pirates pushed the lead out to 15-4 as Hofstra committed three miscues sandwiched around two more kills by Matusiak. Hofstra used their second timeout, and Seton Hall cruised from there to take the set.
Set three was all Seton Hall. After falling behind 6-4, the Pirates reeled off a 21-5 run to close the match out and improve to 5-5 on the year, thanks to four aces from Warren.
Seton Hall continues play this Friday afternoon with two games as part of the Seton Hall Invitational, opening with NJIT at 11 a.m., and closing the day against Boston College at 6 p.m. Both games are at Walsh Gym.
Jason Guerette can be reached at jason.guerette@student.shu.edu.
