Seton Hall Goes 2-1 at Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic

Published: Tuesday, September 8, 2026

by Matthew Merlino

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Seton Hall Volleyball (5-1) scored 2 wins at this weekend’s Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic. They defeated Jacksonville State (1-6) on Friday and Western Carolina (2-4) on Sunday but fell to hosts UNC Asheville (6-1) in Saturday’s match. 
 
After not dropping a set in their own tournament the weekend before, Seton Hall began their first road trip of the season with a four-set win over Jacksonville State. After recording 12 kills against FDU, sophomore OH Daria Safian led the team with 12 more, while senior libero Rylee Nelson led on defense with 12 digs.  
 
The Pirates won the first set 25-21, while Jacksonville State took set two 26-24. Seton Hall won the third and fourth sets to win the best-of-five match, 25-17 and 25-23 respectively. In the fourth set, the Pirates were down 18-14 and 22-20 before the comeback. Seton Hall’s 4-0 start was the best of any season since 2003. 
 
The Pirates took the momentum from that 4-0 start into Saturday’s match against hosts UNC Asheville. And, despite a double-double from Junior Gwen Adler, Seton Hall was defeated in 3 straight sets. Adler led the team in assists (14), including her 600th of her career, and digs (11).  
 
Sophomore setter Emilee Fuller also surpassed 300 career assists, with 3 on the day. Seton Hall led at points in all three sets, but lost each one handily, 25-17, 25-18, and 25-17. It was the Pirates’ first loss of 2026. 
 
After suffering their first loss of the season, Seton Hall had to put it behind them and move towards their final game of the Blue Ridge Classic vs. Western Carolina. It was a five-set battle, the first match of the season to go the distance for Seton Hall. Junior OH Alondra Villanueva recorded two career-highs in the match of 19 kills and 13 digs, while Adler also scored another double-double of 35 assists and 11 digs.  
 
After winning the first set 26-24, Seton Hall dropped the next two, 23-25 and 22-25. But the Hall would rally to win the fourth set 25-15 and win the decisive final set 25-6. Safian also recorded 18 kills to join Villanueva in a great offensive showing for the Pirates. Seton Hall had 71 total kills, the first time they topped 70 kills as a team since October 2023. 
 
Seton Hall has two more weekend tournaments before beginning conference play on September 23rd. 
 
This weekend they will be in College Park, M.D., on the campus of the University of Maryland, where they will play the Terrapins (3-1) on Friday, and then take on a pair of New Jersey foes in a Saturday doubleheader. 
 
 The Pirates will play Princeton (0-3) at 1:00 P.M. and Saint Peter’s (0-7) at 4:00 P.M. in College Park.

Matthew Merlino can be reached at matthew.merlino@student.shu.edu 

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