SHU Hosts Georgetown, Villanova This Weekend

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Walsh Gymnasium

SETON HALL (7-15, 2-7) vs. GEORGETOWN (13-8, 6-3)

Date

Time

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Friday,
Oct. 19

7:00 PM ET

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@SHUVolley

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Walsh Gymnasium

SETON HALL (7-15, 2-7) vs. VILLANOVA (11-10, 4-5)

Date

Time

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Saturday,
Oct. 20

7:00 PM ET

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@SHUVolley

PREVIEW
Seton Hall is back in action this weekend as it returns to Walsh Gymnasium for a pair of BIG EAST Conference contests. The Pirates will host Georgetown on Friday, and Villanova on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.

PROMOTIONS
Friday – It's another TGIF Night at Walsh & every student in attendance will be entered into a raffle to win great prizes to turn any dorm room Pirate Blue!

Saturday - Be sure to wear your best Seton Hall white shirt because we're going to WHITE OUT THE WILDCATS!

LAST WEEKEND
Last weekend, the Pirates split a pair of BIG EAST matches at Walsh Gym, both in three sets. On Friday, The Hall swept DePaul, but fell in three sets against No. 19 Marquette on Saturday.

Junior Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) tallied a season-high 12 kills, while teammates Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) and Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) notched double-doubles as the Pirates swept DePaul, 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-16), on Friday. Gasser had a strong all-around match, compiling a team-high 12 kills, only two attack errors, and a .500 attack percentage. She also had a career-high six digs to go with three blocks. Koska finished with 11 kills, only two attack errors, and 14 digs, while Coffey had a match-high 40 assists to go with 10 digs.

On Saturday, senior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had a team-high 10 kills, but The Hall fell in three sets to No. 19 Marquette, 3-0 (19-25, 25-19, 22-25). Thelen had 10 kills, only three attack errors, and four digs. Koska nearly had a double-double, finishing with seven kills and nine digs.

For her efforts last weekend, Coffey was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
Seton Hall and Georgetown will meet for the second time this season and 41^st time in history on Friday. Georgetown owns a 23-17 all-time series lead. The Hall had won four straight, and eight of the prior nine meetings, but the Hoyas swept the Pirates earlier this season in Washington.

Abby Thelen recorded a match-high 14 kills, but the Pirates fell at Georgetown, 3-0 (21-25, 16-25, 18-25), on Sept. 26. Thelen was efficient too, notching a .310 attack percentage, but she as the only Pirate to record more than five kills in the match.

Georgetown has vastly improved from last season under new head coach Toby Rens. The Hoyas enter the weekend with a 13-8 overall mark and a 6-3 record in BIG EAST Conference play. They had won eight of their last 10 matches before being swept by No. 10 Creighton on Friday. Georgetown has notched conference wins over Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova, and most recently both Butler and Xavier on the road.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
Seton Hall and Villanova will meet for the second time this season and 44^th time in history. The Wildcats own a 27-16 all-time series lead, and defeated the Pirates in Jake Nevin Field House in four sets earlier this season.

Senior Abby Thelen had a season-high 20 kills, and three other Pirates recorded double-doubles, but The Hall fell in four sets to Villanova, 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 20-25, 23-25), in the BIG EAST opener on Sept. 19. The Pirates came out of the gate strong, winning a close first set, but Villanova rallied for wins in the final three sets. All four sets were close with each team scoring in the 20s all four times.

Thelen finished with 20 kills and only two attack errors. Seniors Sophia Coffey and Caitlin Koska, as well as junior Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) all recorded double-doubles. Coffey had a team-high 26 assists and 10 digs. Koska had 13 kills and 13 digs, while Cvelbar tallied 21 assists and 13 digs.

Villanova enters the weekend with an 11-10 overall record and a 4-5 mark in BIG EAST Conference play. The Wildcats have dropped four of their last five matches, but earned a split last weekend. Villanova defeated Providence in four sets, but fell to No. 10 Creighton in four sets. In addition to Seton Hall and Providence, other BIG EAST wins for Villanova include a five-set home win against St. John's and a three-set road sweep of DePaul.