Volleyball Faces BYU In NCAA First Round
12/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014
** 2014 NCAA TOURNAMENT - FIRST ROUND **
SETON HALL (28-7) vs. BRIGHAM YOUNG (25-4)
McHale Center - Tucson, Ariz.
6:00 p.m. ET
Live Video: CLICK HERE
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Tournament Central: CLICK HERE
**If Seton Hall defeats BYU on Thursday**
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014
** 2014 NCAA TOURNAMENT - SECOND ROUND **
SETON HALL (29-7) vs. #11 ARIZONA (24-9) or YALE (19-7)
McHale Center - Tucson, Ariz.
7:30 p.m. ET
Live Video: CLICK HERE
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Tournament Central: CLICK HERE
PREVIEW
Seton Hall enters uncharted waters this week when it plays in its first-ever NCAA Tournament on Thursday vs. Brigham Young in Tucson, Ariz. The Pirates and Cougars will square off at 6:00 p.m. ET with live coverage available at PAC-12.com. Should Seton Hall win, it'll play the winner of #11 Arizona and Yale on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Pirates are coming off a week that saw them outlast Marquette in five sets in the BIG EAST semifinals, before falling to Creighton in the BIG EAST Championship. Playing in its first BIG EAST Tournament semifinal match since 1994, the Pirates downed Marquette in five sets (25-23, 25-12, 19-25, 18-25, 15-11) on Friday. The Manthorpe sisters had big efforts in their first post-season contest. Stacey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) logged her team-leading 22nd double-double of the season with 14 kills and a career-high 32 digs. Shelbey Manthorpe (Merion Station, Pa.) also had a double-double, recording a match-high 44 assists and a season-high 27 digs. On Saturday, Shelbey Manthorpe registered her 18th double-double of the season, but Seton Hall fell short of its first-ever BIG EAST Championship, falling in four sets to Creighton (12-25, 25-17, 24-26, 12-25). Manthorpe finished with a team-high 38 assists to go with a match-high 21 digs. Stacey Manthorpe tallied team-highs of 18 kills and .292 attack percentage. In doing so, she moved into third place on Seton Hall's career kills list. BIG EAST Libero of the Year Tessa Fournier (Redondo Beach, Calif.) recorded 18 digs and six assists.
For their efforts, both Manthorpe twins were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
The Pirates now turn their attention to their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Seton Hall has played only one of the three teams in Tucson this week. It has never faced Thursday's opponent BYU, or Arizona, and has fallen in all three prior matches vs. Yale. Most recently, the Pirates lost to Yale in five sets in the Bulldogs' annual tournament in 2013.
BYU enters the tournament as the champions of the West Coast Conference and having won seven straight matches. The battle-tested Cougars took fifth-ranked Washington to five sets and won a set of 14th-ranked Colorado State. Earlier this year, BYU won 11 straight matches in which they lost just three sets. The Cougars are currently ranked 12th in the nation by the AVCA Poll and are #17 in RPI. BYU is the top blocking team in the nation with sophomore Whitney Young ranking first nationally in blocks per set (1.93) and first in total blocks (193). Amy Boswell ranks second in blocks per set (1.67) and 11th in total blocks (167), Jennifer Hamson ranks 30th in blocks per set (1.34).
Both games this week will be streamed live at PAC-12.com.
TOP SETON HALL NOTES
DANCING FOR THE FIRST TIME
For the first time in program history, Seton Hall has earned a trip to the 64-team NCAA Tournament. The Pirates will face Brigham Young in Tucson, Ariz. in the first round on Thursday, Dec. 4. The winner will play either host #11 Arizona or Yale on Friday, Dec. 5.
PIRATES FALL IN BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Seton Hall defeated Marquette in a thrilling five-set match in the BIG EAST semifinals on Nov. 28 before falling to Creighton in four sets in the BIG EAST Championship Game on Nov. 29. Shelbey Manthorpe had double-doubles in both games. Stacey Manthorpe had a career-high 32 digs vs. Marquette. It's only the third time in history that the Pirates have made it to the BIG EAST title game.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Adding another accolade to legendary careers, both Shelbey and Stacey Manthorpe were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team. The sisters combined for three double-doubles in the two matches.
RECORD SETTER
At the BIG EAST Championship, sophomore Tessa Fournier broke Seton Hall's single-season record for digs. She currently has 689 this season, which bests Alyssa Warren's 659 set in 2012. Earlier this season, Fournier tied Warren's record for digs in a single match with 45 vs. DePaul on Nov. 15.
BIG SINGLE-SEASON NUMBERS
With Seton Hall about to play its 36th match of the season, several Pirates rank high on the single-season stat charts. In addition to Tessa Fournier breaking the digs record, Stacey Manthorpe broke the single-season mark for attacks in a season and ranks third in single-season kills. Ashani Rubin needs 10 blocks to break the single-season record. Shelbey Manthorpe is second on the single-season assists list.
NATIONAL ATTENTION
For the first time in two decades, Seton Hall received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 Poll on Nov. 24. The Pirates received five votes.
LIBERO OF THE YEAR
Sophomore Tessa Fournier was named BIG EAST Libero of the Year on Tuesday. Seton Hall takes home Libero of the Year for the third consecutive season after Alyssa Warren won the prestigious honor in back-to-back seasons. Fournier has led the BIG EAST in digs and digs per game for most of the 2014 season. Her 5.49 digs per set ranks ninth in the nation, and recently, she tied Seton Hall's single-match record with 45 digs vs. DePaul on Nov. 15. She needs just 12 more digs to set the Seton Hall single-season record.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
Allison Yaeger and Allie Matters were named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. The Pirates are 27-6 overall. Their 27 wins ties for the second-most victories in program history. Seton Hall's 15-3 BIG EAST Conference record is also a team-best. The Pirates' prior record for conference wins was only eight, a number The Hall nearly doubled this season. Lastly, Seton Hall qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2011.
ALL-CONFERNCE PICKS
Shelbey Manthorpe, Stacey Manthorpe and Tessa Fournier were all named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Amanda Hansen was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Seton Hall led the conference with four All-Conference selections. Shelbey Manthorpe is the first player in Pirate history to be named to an All-Conference Team in four straight seasons.
