Shelbey Manthorpe recorded her seventh triple-double of the season as the volleyball team won a close match against Rutgers in five sets, 3-2, tying their wins from last season.
The match started with both teams swapping points, with neither team able to get a run larger than three. Rutgers then went on a 6-2 run to take a 9-6 lead.
Seton Hall countered with a 4-1 run of their own, capped off by an ace by sophomore Stacey Manthorpe. After a 3-1 run for Rutgers, the Pirates took control of the set with a 7-1 run, culminating in a timeout called by Rutgers with the score at 17-13.
Following the timeout the two teams traded points until the Pirates scored two straight points to force another Rutgers timeout with the Pirates leading 21-16.
The Pirates came out of the timeout strong, scoring an ace on the first point off of the timeout. The two teams traded points until the end, when the Pirates scored two straight to win the set, 25-18.
The second set started with a 6-1 Pirates run. The Scarlet Knights countered with a 6-1 run of their own, capped off by an ace. The Pirates bounced back with another 6-1 run of their own, culminating in a timeout called by Rutgers with the Pirates leading 12-8.
The Pirates continued their dominance following the timeout, going on a 4-1 run. After trading points, the Scarlet Knights went on a 4-1 run. After two consecutive points by the Pirates following the 4-1 run, the Knights called a timeout with the Pirates leading 21-15.
With the Pirates leading 22-17, senior Kalie Marshall finished the set by capping off a 3-0 run with an ace.
It looked as if the Pirates had the game at hand, but they struggled in the next two sets. In the third set they once again came out strong, going on an 8-2 run to start the set. The two teams played an evenly matched set in the middle of the set before Rutgers started to come back with a 4-1 run. After a few traded points, the Knights went on a 3-1 run to tie the set at 18.
Following a Seton Hall timeout with the score 21-20 Rutgers, the Knights went on a 4-1 run to finish the set 25-21.
The fourth set began with the teams trading points. Rutgers went on a 4-1 run to take the lead. The Pirates countered with a 4-0 run of their own, capped off by an ace by Marshall.
After a small 3-0 run by the Knights to tie the game at 10, the teams traded points until the Pirates went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-12 lead, forcing a Rutgers timeout. After giving up two straight points off the timeout, the Pirates went on a 3-0 run to force the Knights to call their second timeout of the set with the lead at five.
The timeout worked for the Knights, as they went on a 6-1 run to tie the game at 20 and force a Seton Hall timeout. The Pirates came out of the timeout strong, scoring four of the first six points to put them at match point. The Knights were resilient though, and four straight points to win the set 26-24.
In the fifth set, The Pirates once again came out strong, going on a 4-1 run and forcing an early Rutgers timeout. The Knights came out of the timeout swinging, going on a 5-1 run. The Pirates responded with a 3-0 run, causing the Knights to use their final timeout. The Pirates then finished off the set and the match with a 6-1 run to win the set 15-7.
Head coach Allison Yaeger said she liked the team's performance and thought it was a good sign that they were able to win such a close match. She added, though, that she was not happy with the inconsistency of the team, noting that it has been an issue over the past couple of weeks.
The team's next match is next Friday in Queens against St. John's.
Brandon Biskobing can be reached at Brandon.Biskobing@student.shu.edu
