Volleyball To Host Villanova on Dig Pink Sunday
10/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Live video and stats available at SHUPirates.com!
SETON HALL PIRATES (8-12, 2-2)
vs. VILLANOVA (14-4, 3-1)
October 10 - 2:00 p.m.
SHU VS. VU All-Time: 9-21
Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2009
Location: Villanova, Pa.
Result: L, 3-0
After closing out its non-conference schedule with a victory against NJIT, Seton Hall returns home to host the Villanova Wildcats on Dig Pink day at Walsh Gymnasium. A variety of fundraising efforts will raise funds for the Side-Out Foundation.
The Pirates stand at 2-2 in the BIG EAST after picking up a win against West Virginia and falling to Pittsburgh last weekend. Seton Hall will again play just one game next weekend as it travels to Rutgers on Oct. 15. Following the match against Villanova, the Pirates will not return home until Nov. 6. The final four matches of the year will be at Walsh Gymnasium.
Villanova will face Rutgers on Saturday before playing the Hall on Sunday. The Wildcats have won 13 of their last 14 matches, losing only to Marquette in four sets on Oct. 1. Sophomore outside Morgan Petkovich leads the way with 3.43 kills per set, followed by junior middle Maggie Mergen at 3.16. Junior defensive specialist Kim Maroon has been good for 5.37 digs per set, while freshman setter Alyssa Anderson has averaged 10.36 assists per set.
OSMUN SETS SCHOOL KILL RECORD
Senior Sarah Osmun, just the seventh player in school history to eclipse 1,000-kill mark, became the all-time leader in kills at Seton Hall on Sept. 26 at Louisville. Osmun tied Jennifer Cheshire's mark of 1,379 in the fourth set before setting the new record in set five.
CAREER KILL LEADERS
1. 1,420 Sarah Osmun 2007-Present
2. 1,379 Jennifer Cheshire 1994-97
3. 1,345 Tricia Meyers 2005-08
4. 1,156 Jenna Meyers 2000-03
5. 1,124 Kari Belin 1999-02
OFFENSIVE THREATS
Sarah Osmun and Meghan Matusiak have formed one of the top one-two offensive punches in the BIG EAST. In conference play, Osmun is third in kills per set with 4.35 and in points per set with 4.74. Matusiak is fourth in kills per set with 3.47 and ninth in points per set with 3.94. Making it all happen is setter Olivia Trudeau, who leads the BIG EAST in league play with 12.18 assists per set.
MATUSIAK MAKING NOISE
Meghan Matusiak set a career-high with 26 kills at NJIT, just days after coming up with a then personal-best 23 against West Virginia. In between, she came up with a career-high 19 digs against Pittsburgh. With 871 career kills, she has a chance this season to become just the eighth Pirate to reach the 1,000-kill plateau.
HUGEBACK'S CAREER DAY
Hannah Hugeback stepped her game up against Pittsburgh, setting new career-bests with 18 kills and 18 digs. She is tied for the team-lead with nine double-doubles this season, including her current streak of four straight.
SETTING THE TABLE
Setter Olivia Trudeau registered a personal-high 66 assists against Pittsburgh, just one day after picking up a then career-high 57 against West Virginia.
BREAKTHROUGH AGAINST LOUISVILLE
The Hall's win over Louisville was the first in school history against the Cardinals, who had taken the first five meetings. Louisville was picked second in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, making it one of the biggest road wins in Pirates' history.
THE 1,000-1,000 CLUB
Sarah Osmun passed the 1,000-dig mark in the Hall's win over UMBC on Sept. 17. She joined Jennifer Cheshire and Laura Romeika as the only players in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
WARREN KEEPS DIGGING
Freshman libero Alyssa Warren is off to a great start in her Seton Hall career with 4.47 digs per set, good for sixth in the BIG EAST. Warren has already turned in several big efforts, with matches of 31, 29, 27, 24 and 22 digs.
PRESEASON POLL
Following a promising 2009 campaign, Seton Hall was picked seventh in this year's BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. It is the highest the Pirates have been slotted under fifth-year head coach Kris Zeiter. The Hall finished last season in a tie for eighth place.
PROGRAM ON THE RISE
The year 2009 saw Seton Hall earn its first berth in the BIG EAST Championship since 1994. As the No. 8 seed, the Pirates took on No. 1 Notre Dame in the first round, falling 3-0. The 2010 Championship will be played at Pittsburgh, with just the top eight teams qualifying once again.
WARREN IMPRESSES IN RED, WHITE & BLUE
Freshman libero Alyssa Warren spent part of her summer as a member of the U.S. Junior National A2 Team, helping the squad to a silver medal at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Warren was one of only six players in an 18-team division to earn All-Tournament honors, picking up the distinction of Best Passer. The performance will likely yield an invitation to the next round of national team tryouts.
BEYOND THE NET
Seton Hall is filming a season-long reality show on the 2010 volleyball season, entitled "Beyond the Net." Episodes will air exclusively on SHUPirates.com, the official website of Seton Hall Athletics.
