The Seton Hall Pirates notch their first victory of the season, winning in four sets against the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Friday.
Seton Hall came in looking for a strong rebound, coming off a not-so-good weekend, losing every game in the Florida Atlantic Invitational three sets to none. Sacred Heart came into Walsh Gymnasium with a record of 2-1 after winning against Youngstown State and Long Island, while losing to UConn in three sets.
Before the Pioneers responded, the Pirates struggled to gain a lead in the first set, constantly getting one or two points behind. Finally, the Pirates broke through despite a hit percentage of .071, winning the first set 25-23.
The Hall performed much better in the second set, with their hit percentage more than four times better than the prior set and winning handily by a score of 25-15. The third set, however, saw a bit of trouble in paradise. Just like the first set, one team was constantly up by a couple of points before the other team took advantage and won the set. This time, Sacred Heart rallied from behind and avoided the sweep.
The fourth set saw more back and forth action. Eventually, the Pirates calmed the storm and led by as many as seven points before eventually winning the fourth and final set by a score of 25-19.
The Pirates were led by senior Reagan Merk and sophomore Senna Roberts-Navarro, who both had 11 kills in the game. The Pioneers were led by senior Camryn Luginbuhl, who led the game with 12 kills but cost her team with nine errors on the game, with seven of them coming on her own serves.
The Pirates look to keep this momentum rolling against the NJIT Highlanders on Saturday, before finishing up the tournament against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Sunday.
John Misiewicz writes for the Setonian’s sports section. He can be reached at john.misiewicz@student.shu.edu.
