Pirates Host Butler, Xavier this Weekend at Walsh

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016
** CHICK-FIL-A NIGHT **
BUTLER (11-5) at SETON HALL (6-8, 0-1)
Walsh Gymnasium – South Orange, N.J.
7:00 p.m. ET
FREE Live Video | Radio | Live Stats | Twitter

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
XAVIER (6-7) at SETON HALL (6-8, 0-1)
Walsh Gymnasium – South Orange, N.J.
7:00 p.m. ET
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PREVIEW
Seton Hall will return to Walsh Gymnasium this weekend against a pair of BIG EAST Conference opponents. The Pirates will host Butler on Friday, and Xavier on Saturday. Match times for both days are 7:00 p.m. Fans can watch both contests live for free via the Pirate Sports Network at SHUpirates.com.

On Tuesday, Seton Hall opened BIG EAST Conference play with a three-set loss at Villanova. Danielle Schroeder led The Hall with 10 kills. Freshman Haylee Gasser had five kills and a match-high seven blocks. Last weekend, the Pirates dropped two of three matches at the Rutgers Invitational, but rallied to defeat the hosts in five sets.

Seton Hall is 3-3 in six all-time meetings against Butler. The Hall has won three of the last four matches, including a sweep of last season's home-and-home series. The Bulldogs were able to win only one set against the Pirates last year. Seton Hall swept Butler in Walsh Gym and won in four sets in Indianapolis. Sophia Coffey registered double-doubles in both contests, and Danielle Schroeder recorded her career-high of 20 digs at Butler.

The Bulldogs enter the contest with a record of 11-5. Most recently, they won two of three matches at their own Bulldog Invitational. Butler's victories came over Northern Kentucky and Loyola (Ill.). They lost in three sets to Arizona in the finale. Seton Hall and Butler haven't had any common opponents yet this year.

Xavier has won five of six all-time meetings with Seton Hall and swept the Pirates last year. The Hall fell in straight sets in Cincinnati, but took the Musketeers to five sets before succumbing in Walsh Gym. In the epic five-set match, Seton Hall had four players record at least 11 kills, and out-dug Xavier, 91-to-67, but came up short.

The Musketeers enter this weekend with a record of 6-7 overall. Last weekend, Xavier dropped two of three matches at the highly-competitive Stacey Clark Classic, hosted by Purdue. The Musketeers lost in five sets to No. 4 Kansas and was swept by No. 14 Purdue. They swept Southeastern Louisiana for their only victory. Seton Hall and Xavier haven't had any common opponents yet this year.

SETON HALL NOTES
FRIDAY IS CHICK-FIL-A NIGHT
It's time to "Eat Mor Chikin!" Come the match to hang out with the Chick-fil-A cow and take pictures. The first 150 students will receive a FREE chicken sandwich, courtesy of Chick-fil-A Union Township.

PIRATES DROP BIG EAST OPENER
Seton Hall fell in three sets at Villanova in the BIG EAST opener for both teams on Tuesday. Danielle Schroeder had a team-high 10 kills to go with six blocks. Freshman Haylee Gasser had five kills and a match-high seven blocks.

SETON HALL RALLIES PAST RUTGERS
The Pirates rallied from two sets down to defeat Rutgers in Piscataway in the finale of the Rutgers Invitational on Saturday. Four Pirates reached double figures in kills, led by 17 from Dani Schroeder. Sophia Coffey had a season-high 46 assists. Collectively, the Pirates had a season-high .329 attack percentage.

DOUBLE... DOUBLE-DOUBLE
For the first time this season, two Pirates collected double-doubles in Seton Hall's five-set victory at Rutgers. Sophomore Sophia Coffey had a season-high 46 assists to go with 13 digs. She also had seven kills and no attack errors. Grace Forren registered 11 kills and career-highs of 14 digs and five blocks.

QUEEN KOSKA
Sophomore Caitlin Koska recorded a career-high 15 kills to go along with eight digs vs. Princeton on Friday. She also had seven kills and only one attack error vs. Seattle earlier in the day.

SETON HALL FALLS AT HOFSTRA IN FIVE
The Pirates saw their five-match win streak come to an end in a hard-fought five-set loss at Hofstra on Tuesday. The teams combined for 38 ties and 18 lead changes during the match. Four Pirates recorded at least 12 kills, with Dani Schroeder leading the way with 13.

PIRATES WIN BLUE RAIDER BASH
Seton Hall lost only one set over the three matches of the Blue Raider Bash, defeating Illinois State in four sets and sweeping both Tennessee Tech and host Middle Tennessee State. It is Seton Hall's first road tournament championship since winning the Carmichael Invitational at Rhode Island in 2012.

CLIMBING THE LIST
During the Seton Hall Classic, Sophia Coffey passed Nicole Harguindeguy into ninth on Seton Hall's career assists list. She needs just 15 more to pass Nichole Bushroe for eighth on the all-time list.

FOURNIER NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST
Senior Tessa Fournier was unanimously named to the 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. A three-time AVCA All-Region honoree, Fournier was named BIG EAST Libero of the Year for a second consecutive season in 2015, and led the BIG EAST in both digs (583) and digs per set (5.16).

FREE PIRATES SPORTS NETWORK
For the first time ever, all live events on the Pirates Sports Network (PSN) will be carried free of charge on SHUpirates.com. You can now see all 12 home volleyball contests live from Walsh Gym in 2016 for free.

PRESEASON POLL
Seton Hall was picked seventh in this year's BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Creighton was the unanimous conference favorite, followed by Marquette and Xavier. The Pirates have outplayed their expectations in each of the last two seasons under head coach Allison Yaeger. In 2014, The Hall was picked to finish sixth, but placed second. In 2015, they were picked sixth, but finished fifth.

VOLLEYBALL ON BEDN
Seton Hall will have two regular season matches broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network, a Nov. 12 date at Marquette followed by a Nov. 19 home game vs. St. John's. Should the Pirates qualify for the BIG EAST Championship, the semifinal round will also be carried on BEDN.

FOURNIER APPROACHING SECOND
Senior Tessa Fournier needs 124 digs to pass current assistant coach Allie Matters for second on Seton Hall's career digs list. Former teammate Alyssa Warren is the Pirates' all-time leader with 2,381.