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Volleyball Puts Out Flames, 3-1
9/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
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KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Seton Hall volleyball team defeated Liberty, 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 26-24) to open up the Western Michigan Invitational on Friday night. The Pirates improve to 2-1 on the young season.
Senior Meghan Matusiak (Winfield, Ill.) recorded her second straight double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. Sophomore Alyssa Warren (Joliet, Ill.) recorded eight of her 20 digs in the deciding fourth set to lead the club.
Junior Morgan DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich.) also had a big match in her hometown weekend. The middle blocker posted 11 kills with a team-best attack percentage of .444.
SHU came on strong to begin set one, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. Despite the fast start, the Flames later rallied to tie the score up, 12-12. A Melissa Racz kill would give Liberty the lead at 15-14, an advantage they would not relinquish, as they took the match lead, 1-0.
A 15-4 run by the Pirates put set two out of reach, as the Hall evened things up with a 25-15 win. Freshman Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) and senior Meghan Bonk (Hockessin, Del.) were the stars of the frame, teaming up for four blocks to key the big run. Bonk finished the match with a career-high seven blocks on the day.
Set three saw the Pirates score the first five points, only to see Liberty come back and take an 11-10 lead. After swapping the lead two more times, the Hall finally pulled away after a DeVries kill made it 20-18. A Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) block made it set point, 24-21, and a Flames' attack error gave SHU a 25-23 set-win.
The Pirates began the fourth set just like the third, netting five straight before the Flames regrouped to get back into the game. With score tied 15-15, Seton Hall surged ahead by ripping off four in a row to get some separation, but Liberty would not go down without a fight. Trailing 24-21, the Flames rattled off three in a row to force extra points. After a timeout, kills by Shelbey Manthorpe and Matusiak finally put Liberty away.
The Western Michigan Invitational will wrap up tomorrow as the Pirates will face North Carolina at 10:00 a.m. and the host Broncos in a primetime 7:00 p.m. matchup.
