Seton Hall falls to DePaul in four sets

Date: October 25, 2019

By: Jorie Mickens

The Seton Hall Pirates lost to the DePaul Blue Demons, 3-1, early Friday afternoon in Walsh Gymnasium.

The Pirates entered the match with a 7-15 overall record and a 2-6 record within the Big East Conference, searching to snap their three-game losing streak. In Set one, the Pirates got into a hole early. They trailed 4-0 early in the set, but a few kills by Emilee Turner had the Pirates back in it. The Blue Demons then went on a 9-0 run, taking a commanding 17-7 lead over the Pirates. After the Pirates stopped the Blue Demons’ run, the Pirates scored 8 of the next 11 points in the set, trailing 21-16 and looking to take the set. The Blue Demons took set one though, scoring four of the last five points and taking set one 25-17.

In set two, the Blue Demons got out to a 2-0 lead before the Pirates tied it up at 2-2. The Pirates had their first lead of the match after a kill by Amanda Rachwal, giving the Pirates a 4-3 lead. The Pirates then went on a 3-0 run, now leading the Blue Demons 7-3. After the Pirates took a 10-4 lead over the Blue Demons, the Blue Demons took a timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Pirates scored two straight and took an eight-point lead over the Blue Demons. The Blue Demons mounted a comeback though mid-way through the set, trailing just 15-11 at one point. When the Blue Demons brought the set to within three points, the Pirates took a timeout. Out of the timeout, a kill by Rachwal gave the Pirates a 20-17 lead. The Blue Demons scored three of the next four points though, trailing 21-20 late in set two. The Pirates ended the set scoring four of the last five points and winning set two 25-21.

With the match tied at 1-1, set three was similar to set one. The Blue Demons got out to a 2-0 lead early in the set, but the Pirates tied it at three. The Pirates kept it close early in the set, trailing by just one when the score was 7-6 but then the Blue Demons turned it on. The Blue Demons went on several small runs to give themselves a 18-11 lead over the Pirates. The Pirates showed some life when they scored two straight points to bring themselves to within seven when the score was 20-13, but the Blue Demons took the set 25-17 and a 2-1 lead in the match.

In set four, the Pirates lead 4-3 early in the set and kept it close until the Blue Demons took a three-point lead when the score 14-11. Late in the set, the score was 23-21 and the Pirates were trailing. In a very confusing ending to the game, after review from the head referee, it seemed that the score of the set was incorrect and the Blue Demons were given a win as the scoreboard read 24-21.

Rachwal lead the Pirates with 19 kills in the match and Reece Koehler was second with 12 kills. Maggie Cvelbar also lead the game with 40 assists. The Pirates’ next matchup is tomorrow in the Walsh Gymnasium against Marquette at 5:00 p.m.

Jorie Mickens can be reached at jorie.mickens@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Volleyball