Credit: Kyle Ferreira
Pirates Battles Butler, Drops 3-1 in Indianapolis
Published: Saturday, October 19, 2024
by Kyle Ferreira
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – The Seton Hall Pirates (8-11) lost to the Butler Bulldogs (4-15) three sets to one Friday evening. It was a quick turnaround for the Pirates, as their previous match was a recent Wednesday victory over Georgetown in Walsh Gymnasium.
Early on, it appeared the Pirates would quickly take command over the Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Senna Roberts-Navarro got the scoring started with a great block, which opened the Pirates to start on a three-point run. More good news came when Perri Lucas finally cracked the top ten in career kills when she added three kills. She officially passed Danielle Schroeder, who had 1,043 career kills as a Pirate.
Yet the Bulldogs were unfazed by the visiting Pirates, going on a 5-0 scoring run at one point in the set. Butler was seemingly unbeatable after a slow start, leading in service aces (2), digs (19), and blocks (4) after the first frame. Even with Roberts-Navarro's outstanding hitting percentage of .417 and six kills, the Pirates dropped set one 25-20.
Set two showed better results for the Pirates, even though they were down early. In a set full of scoring runs, the Pirates held firm and were in complete control. By the time Butler called for a timeout, the Pirates were up 12-5, and the Bulldogs were constantly affected by attacking errors.
Roberts-Navarro clearly showed her offensive and defensive skills, with her itching closer to a double-double with nine kills and seven digs. Maddie Klungel and Hadlee Ackerman were also playing their roles well, with Klungel notching 19 assists and Ackerman with 10 digs. Errors of all sorts were heavily affecting a Butler squad looking for their second straight victory. The Pirates took this one a whopping 25-17, holding Butler to a .000 attacking percentage in the set.
Set three was undoubtedly the most eventful set of the night. It was scoring-run galore for both squads, going back and forth until the Pirates seemingly took over. With the score at 22-17, Butler called a timeout to get readjusted and relaxed, which in turn appeared to work.
The Bulldogs stormed back, and after being down 27-26, unleashed three straight points to take set three. It was an unexpected turn for the Pirates who looked great, with both Klungel and Robert-Navarro officially achieving double-doubles as well. With a tense back and forth set flow, a comeback from Butler, and a set that saw 15 ties and nine lead changes, the Hall fell 29-27.
In the fourth, unlike the first three frames, the Pirates did not score first; this gave all the momentum to the Bulldogs, who after trailing 2-1, never trailed again. The Pirates gave the Bulldogs all they could, but the matchup ultimately ended in Butler’s favor. They won set four 25-21, and took the match three sets to one.
While it was the not the result the Pirates were hoping for, the match did see other achievements other than Lucas’. Roberts-Navarro's 19 kills were a career high for the sophomore, and Klungel reached 2,000 career assists with her 38 total assists. The Pirates will look to rebound next weekend at home against two of the Big East’s best, Marquette, and No. 6 Creighton.
Kyle Ferreira can be reached at kyle.ferreira@student.shu.edu.Posted in: sports,