The Seton Hall volleyball team defeated both St. John's and Connecticut this weekend to clinch a spot in the Big East Championship for the third straight season.
"It's an amazing feeling to make it again, after missing out freshmen year," senior Meghan Matusiak said. "Now we just worry about where we are in the standings, not if we will get in."
The Pirates, who finished the regular season at 17-12 overall and 8-6 in conference play, are seeded sixth in the Big East Championship and will face the number three seed and host school, Marquette.
The Golden Eagles defeated DePaul in their final match to finish the season at 22-8 overall and 12-2 in conference play.
In their only matchup this season, Marquette defeated Seton Hall in five sets (22-25, 14-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-12) in Milwaukee on Oct. 21.
The Pirates took a close first set and the second by a comfortable margin, recording nine blocks in the set. The Golden Eagles, however, gained some momentum in the third set,and won the next three sets to complete the comeback win.
Currently, Marquette is on a two game winning streak against the Hall with the all-time series record tied at 3-3.
Marquette finished third in Big East Conference play averaging 13.46 kills per set, and second with 12.69 assists per set.
Golden Eagle, freshmen Chelsea Heier led the Big East in assists averaging 11.8 assists per set, and junior Danielle Carlson was first in the conference with a .433 hitting percentage.
Needing a win to secure a spot in the Big East Championship on Sunday afternoon, Seton Hall defeated Connecticut 3-2 on senior day, following a 3-2 victory over St. John's on Saturday.
The Pirates had a chance to win the match in the fourth set against the Huskies but Connecticut was able to come back and win the set 25-22 to send the match to a fifth and deciding set.
The Hall prevailed in the fifth set winning, 15-12.
A post-match ceremony was held to honor seniors Meghan Bonk, Krissy Wrobel and Matusiak. After the match, Matusiak was full of emotion and excited to be back in the Big East Championship.
"It's an amazing feeling to make it again, after missing out freshmen year," Matusiak said. "Now, we just worry about where we are in the standings, not if we will get in."
Matusiak was named Big East Player of the Week for her efforts against St. John's and Connecticut, averaging 4.9 kills per set including a career high 27 kills versus the Huskies.
The Pirates are looking to build off their Big East Championship appearances the past two seasons, where they lost in the first round both times.
"We struggled with some teams in the middle to bottom of the conference, but we have shown we can play with the top teams," Zeiter said.
The Pirates face Marquette on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
Christopher Shedlock can be reached at Christopher.shedlock@student.shu.edu
