Seton Hall Faces Trio at Redbird Classic This Weekend

September 8-9, 2017
** REDBIRD CLASSIC **
Normal, Ill. – Redbird Arena

SETON HALL (4-2) vs. CINCINNATI (1-5)

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Time

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Friday, Sept. 8

5:00 PM ET

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SETON HALL (4-2) at ILLINOIS STATE (2-4)

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Saturday, Sept. 9

1:30 PM ET

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SETON HALL (4-2) vs. DAYTON (4-3)

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Saturday, Sept. 9

5:00 PM ET

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PREVIEW
Seton Hall returns to action this weekend when travels to Normal, Illinois for three matches at the 2017 Redbird Classic. The Pirates will open the weekend on Friday with a match against former BIG EAST foe Cincinnati at 5:00 p.m. ET. On Saturday, The Hall will play host Illinois State at 1:30 p.m. ET, a match that will be featured on ESPN3, and then will play Dayton at 5:00 p.m. ET.

LAST WEEKEND
The Pirates continued their winning ways last weekend at their own tournament, the Seton Hall Classic in Walsh Gym. The Hall welcomed Buffalo and Rutgers to campus in a highly competitive three-match event. The Pirates defeated Buffalo in five sets on Friday. Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.), Dominique Mason (Chicago, Ill.) and Sharay Barnes (Swarthmore, Pa.) all reached double figures in kills. Thelen became the first Pirate to notch at least 20 kills and 20 digs in a match in at least 13 years. She finished with 24 and 21 respectively.

After Buffalo and Rutgers went five sets, a Buffalo victory, Seton Hall and Rutgers squared off in the nightcap on Saturday. The Hall dropped the first set, but won the next three in a four-set victory over the Scarlet Knights. Thelen again led Seton Hall with 15 kills. Setters Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) and Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) both recorded double-doubles.

For their efforts, Barnes, Coffey and Thelen were named to the Seton Hall Classic All-Tournament Team. Thelen was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Tuesday.

MID-WEEK
Seton Hall had its three-match win streak snapped on Wednesday with a five set loss at Princeton. The Pirates bounced back after trailing, 2-1, with a fourth set win, but dropped set five, 15-12. Senior Sarah Kenneweg (Poolesville, Md.) tallied a career-high 27 digs to go with seven assists, while sophomore Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) recorded a career-high 10 blocks. Thelen again led The Hall offensively with 15 kills.

SCOUTING CINCINNATI
Seton Hall has won only two of eight prior matches against Cincinnati, a former BIG EAST Conference member, but the teams haven't played since 2012.

The Bearcats are coming off a strong year in 2016 which carried a 22-10 final record and a first round loss to No. 16 Florida State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This year, Cincinnati has struggled out of the gate winning just one of its first six matches, but is has faced fierce competition. Two of the Bearcats' losses have come to ranked teams and their lone victory was a five-set decision against BIG EAST rival Xavier.

Cincinnati was picked to finish second in the 12-team American Athletic Conference, just three points (and two first place votes) behind the preseason favorites Wichita State.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
This will only be the second all-time meeting between Seton Hall and Illinois State. Last season, the Redbirds visited Walsh Gym as part of the Seton Hall Classic and the Pirates were victorious in four sets. Thelen had a match-high 18 kills in last year's win.

Overall, Illinois State went 17-15 last season and lost in the second round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to end its season. This season, the Redbirds enter the weekend with a 2-4 record and have victories over UC Santa Barbara and Saint Louis, both sweeps. One of the Redbird losses came in five sets against No. 15 Florida State.

Missouri State was picked to finish third in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference this season.

SCOUTING DAYTON
This will be the first-ever meeting between Dayton and Seton Hall.

The Flyers are coming off a dominant season in 2016. Dayton finished with a final record of 30-2, won the Atlantic-10 Conference championship and made the NCAA Tournament. Their four-set loss to Pittsburgh in the first round of the NCAAs snapped a 19-match win streak. This season, Dayton enters the Redbird Classic with a 4-3 record. They're coming off losses to Iowa State and Pittsburgh last weekend at their own Dayton Invitational. Most recently, they defeated Miami (Ohio) in five sets on Tuesday.

Dayton was the unanimous selection to repeat as A-10 champions in 2017.