Western Michigan Squeaks Past Volleyball in Four

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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - A rally late in set four helped Western Michigan to a 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 19-25, 26-24) win over the Seton Hall volleyball team on Saturday morning.  The Pirates (4-9) are back in action later today against Northeastern at 5:30 p.m. in the final game of the Seton Hall Invitational.

Freshman Alyssa Warren (Joliet, Ill.) had a big day on defense for the Hall with 27 digs.  Junior Meghan Matusiak (Winfield, Ill.) was one of four Pirates with double-doubles, totaling 16 kills and 13 digs.  Senior Sarah Osmun (Crystal Lake, Ill.) had 12 kills and 17 digs, while sophomore Hannah Hugeback (Virginia Beach, Va.) rang up 10 kills and 12 digs.

Sophomore Olivia Trudeau (Shell Beach, Calif.) had 47 assists and 10 digs, and her classmate Morgan DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich.) chipped in with 12 kills.

Jessica Brown led the Broncos (8-4) with 18 kills.

After dropping the first two sets, the Pirates rallied back in set three.  DeVries and Osmun sparked a run after the score was tied at 14 to put the Hall up 20-15, followed by a Western Michigan error and an ace from sophomore Kalie Marshall (North Royalton, Ohio).  Osmun closed the set with an ace for a 25-19 win, cutting the Broncos' lead to 2-1 in the match.

An ace from Matusiak gave the Hall an 8-4 lead in set four, and Hugeback followed suit moments later to make it 11-5.  The Pirates led 17-12 after three straight errors by Western Michigan, and it was 20-17 following a kill by Trudeau.  The Broncos fought back with the next three points before Osmun made it 21-20 with a kill.  After Western Michigan secured the next two points, the teams traded off until Taylor Richard came up the decisive kill to end set four at 26-24 in favor of the visitors.

Seton Hall hit .192 on the day, compared to .234 for Western Michigan.  The Pirates finished with 80 digs, while the Broncos came up with 75.