Hugeback and Matusiak Power Volleyball Over DePaul, 3-0

BOX SCORE (.html)
BOX SCORE (.pdf)

CHICAGO, Ill. - Senior Meghan Matusiak (Winfield, Ill.) and junior Hannah Hugeback (Virginia Beach, Va.) each posted 13 kills to lead the Seton Hall volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-9, 26-24) win over DePaul on Sunday afternoon. The Pirates (15-12, 6-6) remain in the eighth and final BIG EAST Championship position heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Hugeback played her finest match of the season, posting a season-high in kills and committed just one attack error on 22 total attempts for a .545 hitting percentage. Freshman Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) handed out 31 assists and had a team-high 16 digs.

The first set was very competitive, but SHU held a slim margin for much of the way. With the score knotted at 17-17, a Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) kill kick-started a three-point rally to give the Pirates a three-point lead. The Blue Demons came within a point twice, including stymieing set-point for the Hall three times to make it 24-23. However, an attack error by Amy Lanski gave the Pirates the opening game.

Seton Hall flexed its muscle in the second set, racing out to a 9-2 lead out of the gate and never looked back, cruising to a 25-9 set-win heading into the intermission.

In the third, the Pirates found themselves in a 12-6 hole and trailed by as many as seven points before making a huge comeback. SHU ripped off seven unanswered to even the score at 17-17 and Matusiak put the Pirates ahead, 21-20, with a kill. DePaul regained the lead, 24-23, after a service error, but two Blue Demon miscues down the stretch helped the Seton Hall complete the sweep, 26-24.

The win also secures SHU's first winning season since 2007 when they went 16-12 overall.

The Pirates return to Walsh Gym to face St. John's on Saturday, November 12. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m.