Seton Hall University
James Madison
Volleyball Edges James Madison, 3-1
8/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Seton Hall volleyball team came up with an impressive 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-19) win over James Madison to wrap up play at the JMU Classic on Saturday. The Pirates improve to 2-0 on the young season, their best start since 2008.
SHU and the Dukes (1-2), fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2011, went back-and-forth the entire way. The match saw the score tied on 33 occasions and virtually every team statistic was identical.
Sophomore Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) led the squad with 15 kills to go with 20 digs for her second double-double of the day. Freshmen Molly Grammer (Center Valley, Pa.) and Amanda Hansen (Pewaukee, Wis.) were vital in the win. Grammer notched 14 kills on .481 clip, while Hansen chipped in 10 kills and six blocks.
Sophomore Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) recorded her 12th consecutive double-double with 44 assists and 13 digs.
SHU held a slim lead for much of the start, but could not contain standout Natalie Abel, who erupted for 10 kills to help JMU (1-2) take control three quarters through. Abel's outburst lifted the Dukes to a 25-21 set win. For the game, JMU scored 20 of their 25 points off of spikes and hit at a .447 clip.
The second set started as a carbon copy of the first with the Pirates holding a small margin to kick things off. But this time, Seton Hall would not relinquish the lead after fine-tuning their defense on the blocks and in the back row. After the first period, the Pirates had no blocks and just 12 digs. In the second, they posted three rejections and made 21 saves to even the match, 1-1.
In the third, the Dukes seemed poised to seize control of the match, taking a 20-16 lead. After a SHU timeout, the Pirates rattled off an impressive 9-1 run to close the set and win the game, 25-21.
After yet another see-saw battle to begin the fourth, Seton Hall finally wore down James Madison down the stretch. With the score 17-16 in favor of The Hall, the Pirates scored six of the next seven to put the set out of reach and claim the victory.
Seton Hall is back at it next weekend at the Maryland Invitational. The Pirates open the tournament on Friday, August 31 against the Terrapins at 7:30 p.m.
