Pirates Defeat DePaul in Three Sets

Date: October 27, 2017

By: Chris Russo

The Pirates volleyball team improved to 14-11 on the season and 8-4 in BIG EAST play with a straight sets victory over DePaul. The win puts the Pirates ahead of Butler for fourth place in the BIG EAST, the final spot in tournament play.

Seton Hall took full control early in the match, and never trailed in the first set. The Blue Demons went on a 4-0 run late in the first set to cut the SHU lead from 22-15 to 22-19, but the Pirates closed out the opener 25-20.

DePaul took the momentum from late in the first set into the early part of the second set, making it 20-20 at one point, but they committed eight errors in the second frame, handing the Pirates a 25-22 win.

(Photo: SHU Athletics)

The third set was all Seton Hall. After SHU took a commanding lead early, DePaul coach Nadia Edwards replaced leading kill-getter Brittany Maxwell for less experienced players like Mayah Reed. In Reed's short time on the floor, she recorded five kills. Seton Hall Coach Allison Yeager said that, in the third set, she told her assistants, "There is not a single player on this court that was in our scouting report." It was not long, though, before SHU counter-punched and took the final set 25-15."

The Pirates had a balanced offensive attack led by Dominique Mason & Abby Thelen, who recorded 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Sharay Barnes and Caitlin Kostka put up good numbers as well, as they combined for 12 kills. However, the biggest surprise was Amanda Rachwal, who had one of her strongest offensive games with six kills.

Sarah Kenneweg reached a milestone by recording her 1,000th career dig, recording 10 total on the evening.

"I'm so happy for [Kenneweg], she's really stepped up as a leader this year," junior Abby Thelen said about Kenneweg's milestone.

The Pirates host Marquette on Saturday, October 28 at 7PM. Catch the action on wsou.net.

 

Chris Russo can be reached at chrisrusso98@gmail.com.

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