Credit: Seton Hall Volleyball
Seton Hall Volleyball Falls in Season Opener Florida Atlantic Invitational
Published: Sunday, September 1, 2024
by Lauren Reese
BOCA RATON, FL - The Seton Hall volleyball team began their 2024 season this past weekend at the Florida Atlantic Invitational. Despite great efforts from all team members, the Pirates were unable to pull out any wins against Ball State University, FAU, or Bryant University.
Game 1, 3-0 Loss to Ball State University
In their official season opener, the Pirates fell to Ball State University 3-0. In set one, the Pirates were able to tie the opening set at 18 apiece, but the Cardinals called a timeout and never looked back. They went on to win 25-21, despite great kills from Pirates’ senior Hanna Tulli and freshman Grace Turner. The second set started with a Ball State attack error, but the team regrouped and once again never trailed again. They closed the set with a 6-1 run that halted the Pirates from reaching the 20-point mark (25-16). Looking to turn the momentum in set three, Seton Hall got off to a great start with four straight points to make the score 7-5. But Ball State went on another scoring run of 12-2. The Pirates could not find the energy they started the set with, and lost 25-19. BSU led the matchup in kills with 43, compared to The Hall’s 24. Pirates' grad student Perri Lucas co-led the team with five kills, and also reached the 900-kills mark for her career. Additionally, grad student Laila Wallace reached the 300-kills mark for her career. Senior Maddie Klungel led the team with twelve assists, and freshman Grace Turner co-led with five kills, and had two aces of her own.
Game 2, 3-0 Loss to FAU
The Hall couldn’t find success the following day against Florida Atlantic University, losing 3-0. Despite a fantastic performance and opening set point from Pirates sophomore Senna Roberts-Navarro, who led the team with eight kills and only two attacking errors, the Owls scored the next five straight and never trailed again. They won the first set 25-27. It was a battle that held a late Pirates’ rally that almost resulted in victory, with back-to-back errors by the Owls cutting the deficit to one. But FAU was able to snuff their hopes away at set point, winning 25-23. The Hall was unable to find any boost again in set three, continuously playing catchup as FAU never trailed in the set. They ultimately lost 25-15, despite great blocks from the Hall’s sophomore Maddy Loiselle and Turner. Sophomore Rylee Nelson led the team with fourteen digs, and new transfer graduate student Reagan Merk collected twelve digs.
Game 3, 3-0 Loss to Bryant University
The Bryant University Bulldogs pounded down on offense to win 3-0 in the Hall’s last game. Bryant never trailed in the first or third set, and maintained the lead for the majority of set two. While the Hall would respond to Bryant’s scoring runs with runs of their own, they could not fully finish the job. The Bulldogs pulled away from their one-point lead of 20-19 with four straight points, and the eventual set-winning one, winning 25-19. As the second set progressed, at one point the Pirates were behind by only one point for a 10-9 score. But Bryant once again responded with a 6-1 run, and the Pirates’ repeat catchup game was no match for the Bulldogs, losing 25-19. In the third set, the Bulldogs quickly scored the first seven points. While great teamwork and an ace from junior Asli Subasili brought the Pirates within one again at 15-14, the Bulldogs found momentum and never let the Pirates catch a breath, beating them 25-19. Once again, Roberts-Navarro led the team with seven kills, and Nelson collected a team-high 10 digs for the matchup. Despite the losses, a positive was that freshman Gwen Adler was named to the Florida Atlantic Invitational All-Tournament Team. She had 19 assists, three kills, and three digs against Bryant.
The Pirates will look to regroup and get some wins this coming weekend in the Seton Hall Classic. Making their 2024 Walsh Gym debut, they will host Sacred Heart on Friday, September 6th, and NJIT on Saturday the 7th, both at 3:00 PM. The event will wrap up on Sunday, September 8th, as they take on Kent State at 11:00 AM.
Lauren Reese is a Sports Web Editor and Assistant Sports Director at WSOU Lauren can be reached at lauren.reese@student.shu.eduPosted in: sports,