Seton Hall Opens BIG EAST Play at Marquette, DePaul

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Al McGuire Center

SETON HALL (6-7, 0-0) at MARQUETTE (7-5, 1-0)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

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Twitter

Friday, Sept. 22

8:00 PM ET

None

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

Chicago, Illinois - McGrath-Phillips Arena

SETON HALL (6-7, 0-0) at DE PAUL (6-7, 0-1)

Date

Time

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Twitter

Saturday, Sept. 23

7:00 PM ET

DePaul Blue Tube

None

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@SHUVolley

PREVIEW
Seton Hall opens the BIG EAST Conference portion of its schedule this weekend with two road matches in the mid-west. The Pirates will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on Marquette on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET. That match will be carried by the BIG EAST Digital Network and shown on the Fox Sports Go app. On Saturday, The Hall heads to Chicago, Ill., for a 7:00 p.m. ET match at DePaul.

LAST WEEKEND
The Pirates are coming off a rough weekend at the VCU Invitational. The Hall opened the weekend with a straight set loss to Northwestern on Friday. Junior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had a team-high 11 kills in the setback. On Saturday, The Hall lost a pair of back-to-back, five-set losses. The Pirates rallied from down two sets to force a fifth set at VCU, but ultimately fell to the Rams. Four Pirates reached double-figures in kills, including Thelen, who had a match-best 17. Against Bowling Green, Seton Hall won the first two sets, but dropped the final three. Three Pirates recorded double-doubles, while senior Sarah Kenneweg (Poolesville, Md.) notched a career-high 31 digs.

SCOUTING MARQUETTE
Seton Hall and Marquette will play for the 19^th time on Friday with the Golden Eagles having won 13 of the prior 18 meetings and four straight. The last Pirate victory in the series came in the semifinals of the 2014 BIG EAST Championship, a five-set win that sent The Hall to the championship game.

Last season, the Golden Eagles swept the season series with a pair of four-set victories. On Oct. 8, Marquette held the Pirates to a .092 attack percentage in a win at Walsh Gym. Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) had the most kills among current Pirates with eight. Later in the year, the Pirates fell in Milwaukee, with Dominique Mason (Chicago, Ill.) leading The Hall with 12 kills. Marquette went on to finish a strong season with a 23-9 final record and an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Their season came to an end with a four-set loss to Washington State in the first round.

Marquette enters the weekend with a 7-5 overall record. The Golden Eagles opened BIG EAST play on Wednesday with a sweep in Indianapolis against Butler. A strong non-conference schedule featured contests with Hawaii, UCLA, San Diego and Kentucky, among others. Seton Hall and Marquette haven't had any common opponents yet this season.

The Golden Eagles were picked to finish second in the 10-team 2017 preseason coaches' poll.

SCOUTING DE PAUL
Seton Hall and DePaul will meet for the 17^th time in history on Saturday. The Blue Demons won their first match in the series last year, breaking a 15-match losing streak.

Last season, the teams split their two regular season meetings with each team winning on the road. On Oct. 7, the Pirates had a 2-1 match lead in Walsh Gym, but DePaul rallied to win the match in five sets for their first-ever victory in the series. The Hall lost despite a .333 attack percentage for the match. However, its attack percentage in set five was .000. Thelen led the Pirates with 16 kills. Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) had 12 kills and no attack errors.

The teams closed the 2016 regular season on Nov. 13, which resulted in a Pirates' four-set victory in Chicago. Mason erupted for a career-high 25 kills with a .422 attack percentage and 12 digs in only four sets. The victory was the springboard the Pirates needed to clinch a berth in last year's BIG EAST Championship tournament.

DePaul enters the weekend with a 6-7 overall record. Like Marquette, the Blue Demons opened BIG EAST play on Wednesday, and dropped a close, five-set match in Cincinnati against Xavier. Seton Hall and DePaul had one common opponent in the non-conference schedule. Both teams were swept by Northwestern.

The Blue Demons were picked to finish seventh in the 10-team 2017 preseason coaches' poll.