The Seton Hall volleyball team clinched their second straight trip to the Big East tournament over the weekend with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-18) win over DePaul, on Saturday. The win against the Blue Devils was their seventh conference win, which tied the school record set in 1994.
"I couldn't be happier that we were able to make it two years in a row," head coach Chris Zeiter said.
He also said the program is moving forward, as noted by their one win improvement in the Big East over last year.
In the first set, the Pirates jumped out to a 6-1 advantage, highlighted by a pair of aces from freshman Alyssa Warren.
Seton Hall hit at a season-high .337 percentage, while DePaul only managed to finish with a .118 percentage.
For the match, senior Sarah Osmun, junior Meghan Matusiak, and sophomore Morgan DeVries each had 10 kills to lead the Pirates, while sophomore Hannah Hugeback chipped in eight.
DeVries had six of her kills on six attempts in the second set, which the Pirates won 25-16.
"We played very consistently and didn't beat ourselves," Zeiter said. "I was very pleased with the effort."
In the third set, the Pirates fell behind 1-0, but came back to win 25-18, led by four kills by Osmun.
DePaul was led by senior Kate Letcher, who notched 7 kills, while freshman Chealsea Kirkpatrick added 6.
The win pushed the Pirates' all-time record vs. DePaul to 6-0.
On Sunday, the Pirates fell to Notre Dame by a score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-17) on Senior Day.
In the first set, the Pirates fell behind 24-21, and came back to make it a one point game before the Irish had a kill to close out the game, 25-23.
"Once we gave up the lead late, we lost all the momentum," Zeiter said. "Notre Dame is one of the best teams in the league, and it showed yesterday."
In the second set, the Pirates came out with a 4-2 lead before the Irish tied it at four apiece. The Pirates then fell behind 21-16, but came back to make it a three point game at 23-20, before dropping the set 25-20.
In the third set, the Pirates trailed the entire way, and eventually fell 25-17.
Seton Hall has still never beaten Notre Dame, dropping to 0-17 all-time against the Fighting Irish.
Osmun led the way for the Pirates with 10 kills, while Matusiak picked up nine, leaving her with 999 over her Hall career. Freshman Alyssa Warren led all players with 17 digs.
The Pirates will be seeded seventh and will face No. 2 seed Louisville in the upcoming Big East tournament, which begins Nov. 19 in Pittsburgh. The Pirates beat the Cardinals in five sets on Sept. 26.
"We know the formula to beat them, but they traditionally play well in the Big East tournament," Zeiter said.
David Rind can be reached at david.rind@student.shu.edu.
