Volleyball Takes Two at Jasper Invitational
8/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SHU vs. Arkansas-Little Rock Box Score (.html)
SHU vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore Box Score (.html)
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Seton Hall volleyball team earned its first wins of the season after a 3-2 (30-25, 14-30, 33-35, 30-28, 15-12) triumph over Arkansas-Little Rock and a 3-1 (30-26, 23-30, 30-18, 30-13) victory against Maryland-Eastern Shore at the Jasper Invitational. The Pirates improved to 2-3 on the young season.
Seton Hall got off to a bit of a slow start against the Hawks, but came back to take a 23-22 lead in game one. The teams traded off points until the Pirates put together a short 5-1 run to take the game.
The Pirates dropped the second game 30-23, but bounced back to win the third and fourth games 30-18 and 30-13.
Sophomore Melissa Bellomy (Arlington, Texas) set a new career-high with 12 kills and led the Pirates' attack with junior Tricia Meyers (Cincinnati, Ohio), who also registered 12 kills.
In the match against Arkansas-Little Rock, three players posted double-doubles. Freshman Sarah Osmun (Crystal Lake, Ill.) exploded for 28 kills, the third highest single-match total in school history, and added 13 digs. Sophomore Allie Matters (North Tonowanda, N.Y.) tied her career-high for the second time this season with 22 kills along with tallying 18 digs. Junior Brittany Rahrer (Fort Wayne, Ind.) dished out a career-best 70 assists, one shy of the Pirate single match record, and had 11 digs.
In game one, Rahrer’s service ace capped an 8-2 run to give Seton Hall an early 11-5 advantage. The Pirates extended the lead to seven, but the Trojans scored eight of the next nine points to tie the game 15-15 and eventually took the lead. With the Pirates trailing, 21-19, Osmun had four straight kills to spark an 8-1 rally to help Seton Hall regain control and take game one, 30-25.
After dropping game two, 30-14, game three was a competitive game that featured six lead changes and 16 ties. The Pirates trailed most of the way, but never fell behind by more than two points after the 7-4 marker in the set. Seton Hall finally took the lead with the score 29-28, but could not convert on three opportunities to win the game. The Trojans Amila Barakovic's two kills gave Arkansas-Little Rock a 34-33 lead, and a Pirate attack error put Seton Hall in a 2-1 hole.
The Pirates had to make another comeback in game four, trailing by as many as five points in the early stages of the set. The two teams continued to go back and forth, but the Trojans maintained the lead. An attack error by Arkansas-Little Rock tied the game at 28-28, and an Osmun kill gave the Pirates their first lead of the game. Another attack error by the Trojans ended the game and knotted the match at 2-2.
Seton Hall looked like they were going to cruise in the deciding game after taking a 10-3 lead. Arkansas-Little Rock chipped away and cut the deficit to 14-12, but a bad set by the Trojans sealed the victory.
Seniors Jennifer Procuniar (Grapevine, Texas) and Kelly Widders (Dublin, Ohio) also had strong matches. Procuniar led the Pirates with 23 digs, while Widders had a career-high eight blocks.
Seton Hall wraps up play at the Jasper Invitational against Manhattan on Saturday, Sept. 1, at 4:00 p.m.
