On Friday evening, the Seton Hall Pirates faced off against the UConn Huskies in their first conference matchup of their 8-6 season. This was the final game of their 3-game road trip before taking on St. John’s back at home.
The Pirates were keeping up with the Huskies in the first set. Both teams went back and forth with errors and kills. When the score reached 4-3, UCONN subbed in server Mia Ruffolo, while Seton Hall subbed in Perri Lucas and Cagla Bengi. Both moves seemed to change the tide of the set. UCONN immediately scored 3 times off a bad set and 2 kills while Seton Hall retaliated with two kills of their own. From then on, the Huskies would go on multiple runs as the Pirates struggled in the front court and could not recover. The Pirates lost the first set 25 – 16.
In the second set, Taylor Jakubowski got Seton Hall on the right track, serving an ace which was followed up by a kill from Madison Frusha. However, once they were down 6-3, the Huskies shifted the momentum with a kill from Kennadie Jake-Turner. The Huskies then took over, going on multiple runs and accumulating 19 kills, effectively taking the Pirates out of it. Seton Hall did have 8 kills and only one error, but the Huskies overwhelming offense won them the set, 25 – 16.
The third set proved to be uglier than the first two, as once the score hit 3-2 in favor of Seton Hall, the Huskies went on a 5 – 0 run. Seton hall had several errors that the Huskies were able to take advantage of, as they begun to steamroll and go on multiple 4 – 0 runs. The Pirates had their lowest hit percentage and digs of the match in the third set. UConn dominated the final set, 25 - 11 and swept the match, 3 – 0.
Seton Hall as a team allowed 46 kills with a .385 hit percentage in a poor defensive performance. On the brighter side, while Seton Hall falls to 8 – 7 for the season, Perri Lucas proved to be a reliable asset as she had a team high 6 kills and 4 blocks. Hopefully for coach Allison Yaeger and her squad, the Pirates will fare better against a formidable St. John’s Red Storm who is 9 – 5 but coming off a loss.
