WSOU

The Pirates were swept by Eastern Kentucky in Akron Invitational opener

Date: September 14, 2019

By: Ben Harris

In a three-set sweep, the Seton Hall Pirates lost their first match of the Akron Invitational against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

The match started off like it would be quite the competition as both teams battled back and forth, ending in a 33-35 Colonels victory. The youth movement of this Pirates team stood out early, as freshmen Reece Koehler and Julia Wilkins had four kills each in the opening set.

However, the lone competitive set ended with back-to-back Pirate errors. After the first set, Eastern Kentucky began to run away with things, claiming the next two sets by no less than eight points apiece. In set two, Eastern Kentucky went on a five-point run that put them up 6-13 that the Pirates were never able to recover from. In set three, Eastern Kentucky put up an offensive onslaught, at one-point scoring on 11/12 plays, putting them up to an insurmountable 5-15 lead.

Both teams had some standout performances from individual players. For Seton Hall, senior middle blocker Haylee Gasser had six kills and led the team in individual points with seven. Freshman libero Raygan Murray had a team-leading 14 digs as well.

As for Eastern Kentucky, freshman outside hitter Abby Noll put on a show, racking up a match-leading 10 kills, with 10 digs to go along with them. Senior setter Rachel Woody also had a nice, all-around game, posting 13 digs, four kills, and even three spikes.

This match was the first one Seton Hall played as a part of the Akron Invitational this year. The invitational event will continue for both teams as Seton Hall will play Saint Francis University at 10 a.m., then hosting Akron Zips at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Eastern Kentucky will play on Saturday as well. They will face off against Akron at 12:30 p.m., and then Saint Francis at 4:30 p.m.

Following the conclusion of the Akron Invitational, they will continue invitational play at George Mason before the start of Big East conference play. The Pirates first game of Big East play will take place on September 27 at 8 p.m. in Milwaukee against Marquette.

Ben Harris can be reached at benjamin.harris@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Volleyball

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