Volleyball Faces #1 Penn State in Hampton Inn Classic
9/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Follow the Pirates this weekend at the Hampton Inn Classic, hosted by Penn State. Live stats links are available below, and SHUPirates.com will once again feature live blog coverage of all the weekend's matches.
@ PENN STATE (3-0) - Live Stats
September 3 - 7:00 p.m.
SHU VS. PSU All-Time: 0-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 16, 2005
Location: University Park, Pa.
Result: 3-0 Loss
vs. VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (0-4) - Live Stats
September 4 - 1:00 p.m.
SHU VS. VCU All-Time: 0-0
Last Meeting: n/a
Location: n/a
Result: n/a
vs. COLGATE (2-1) - Live Stats
September 4 - 4:00 p.m.
SHU VS. CU All-Time: 2-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 6, 2008
Location: Durham, N.C.
Result: 3-0 Loss
Seton Hall will play its second weekend tournament of the season in the prestigious Hampton Inn Classic, hosted by three-time defending national champion Penn State. The Pirates, who picked up a win over William and Mary last Friday to open their season, will face the Nittany Lions on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
Penn State, the winner of 105 straight matches, is the top-ranked team in the nation once again to begin 2010. The Nittany Lions went 3-0 on their opening weekend at the Carolina Classic, disposing of North Carolina, Villanova and Campbell in three sets each. Penn State returns 11 players from last season, including AVCA First Team All-Americans Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson.
Despite its 0-4 record, VCU had some impressive moments on its first weekend, taking a set from Ohio State and two from Arizona State. The Rams were picked third in the Colonial Athletic Association Coaches Preseason Poll.
Colgate picked up wins over Rhode Island and Fairfield on opening weekend before falling to Syracuse by a 3-1 margin. The Raiders return six starters from a year ago and were picked third in the Patriot League this season.
THE OSMUN WATCH
Senior Sarah Osmun, just the seventh player in school history to eclipse 1,000-kill mark, is on pace to set the Seton Hall career record in her final year. She has recorded 1,210 kills to date, leaving her in third-place and 169 short of Jennifer Cheshire's school record.
CAREER KILL LEADERS
1. 1,379 Jennifer Cheshire 1994-97
2. 1,345 Tricia Meyers 2005-08
3. 1,210 Sarah Osmun 2007-Present
4. 1,156 Jenna Meyers 2000-03
5. 1,124 Kari Belin 1999-02
DeVRIES MAKES ALL-TOURNAMENT
Sophomore Morgan DeVries was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Tribe Invitational hosted by William and Mary. She opened the season with a 14-kill performace in a win over the Tribe, hitting .591 for the game. DeVries added nine kills against Winthrop and five more against Wisconsin, finishing the weekend with a .250 attack percentage.
PIRATES POST BIG NUMBERS
Sarah Osmun rang up 26 kills in the Hall's win over William and Mary, the fourth-best total of her career and the eighth most in school history. Sophomore Olivia Trudeau totaled a career-high 55 assists, while senior Megan Murison set a personal-best with 20 digs.
WARREN WASTES NO TIME
Freshman libero Alyssa Warren stepped right into the starting lineup in her first weekend of collegiate volleyball and finished with 5.15 digs per set. Warren came up with 31 digs against Winthrop, which ties for the third-highest single match total in school history.
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. Cincinnati was the unanimous choice for first in the 2010 Poll.
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.
SUPER SOPHS
After quickly making their mark as rookies, the current sophomores will look to pick up right where they left off in 2009. Setter Olivia Trudeau led the BIG EAST with 11.73 assists per game in conference play and will again run the offense in 2010. Middle blocker Morgan DeVries started all 31 games and had a team-best .224 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Hannah Hugeback came on strong late, breaking into the starting lineup while showing tremendous athleticism and offensive potential. Versatile defensive specialist Kalie Marshall also carved out a niche in the rotation.
WARREN IMPRESSES IN RED, WHITE & BLUE
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.
REPLACING MATTERS
Departed libero Allie Matters leaves big shoes to be fileld after completing her career as the all-time digs leader at Seton Hall. Matters, a two-time Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, finished her career with double-figure digs in her last 68 games, the longest active streak in the country at the time of its completion. She is now a graduate assistant coach at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y.
