Recap: Volleyball Ends Season an Even 15-15 After Closing Night Loss to Nova

Date: November 20, 2022

By: Matthew Soetebeer

Seton Hall Athletics

The Seton Hall Pirates (15-15, 6-12 BIG EAST) had a tough night against the Villanova Wildcats (10-20, 6-12 BIG EAST) in what was their final game of the season. The Wildcats won the match in three sets, and it definitely was not the way that the Pirates wanted to finish the season. 

Both teams missed the mark for the tournament as the Pirates finished the season with a 15-15 record, while the Wildcats finished the season 10-20. Although they were disappointed to have not made it further, it was a good night to honor the seniors on their respective teams.

We love our seniors!! pic.twitter.com/Li4nzBRmHB

— Seton Hall Volleyball (@SHUVolley) November 20, 2022

The game was especially draining for The Hall towards the end of the third set, as the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run. The Pirates were struggling to even get the ball back to the Wildcats after the serve, as they had seven aces in Set 3 alone. 

Tara Garvey was the player of the game by far, and Seton Hall was struggling to deal with her all night. Her offensive firepower and hard-hitting spikes resulted in her racking up 14 kills in just three sets.

When the Wildcats were down 20-22 in the first set, Garvey had three straight kills that allowed them to regain the lead and momentum. They went on to win the set by a score of 26-24.

One of the best plays of the game from Garvey came in the middle of set two. She hit the ball to the upper right corner and Jennifer Giron and Jenna Walsh both went diving for the ball unsuccessfully. Garvey hit it with such velocity that she was able to split both defenders and make a crucial play that was the beginning of the end for the Pirates within this set.

Despite Garvey’s dominance, she did get bested on a play by Perri Lucas. Garvey was eyeing yet another spike before Lucas leaped into the air for the block. The play got the crowd up off their feet, and it was exciting to see the offensive juggernaut finally get halted.

The Hall was generally quiet on offense, but their best player of the game would have to be Jenna Walsh. As we’d often seen throughout this year, Walsh scored off her trademark cross court spike and was a handful for the defense.

Jenna Walsh with the big first set kill!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/ZWR2UmrYj9

— Seton Hall Volleyball (@SHUVolley) November 19, 2022

The Pirates had a difficult run against BIG EAST teams this year, but the future's bright under head coach Shannon Thompson. It was only her first season as the coach at Seton Hall and she proved that she’s able to lead this team to win games.

Recruits should be enticed to potentially join the Pirates and make a strong run next season.

Matthew Soetebeer can be reached at matthew.soetebeer@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Volleyball