Pirates Push Villanova, but Ultimately Fall

Saturday, October 20

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

8-16, 3-8

Villanova

12-11, 5-6

Villanova

Seton Hall

10/20/2018 9:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) had a double-double, and the Seton Hall women's volleyball team pushed Villanova to its limit in all three sets, but ultimately fell, 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 23-25), on Saturday.

Coffey finished with a team-high 26 assists to go with 11 digs and five kills in a strong all-around match. Senior Cherise Hennigan (Corona, Calif.) led The Hall with nine kills.

SET 1:
The numbers would indicate that the Pirates should have won the first set. The Hall had more kills (16-to-12), more digs (24-to-16) and a better attack percentage (.244-to-.186). Seton Hall however, never led, as Villanova went on to a 25-23 first set win. The Wildcats stretched their lead to as many as six points late, 23-17, but the Pirates went on a 5-0 run to cut their deficit to only one point. After Villanova entered set point, a kill by Hennigan again cut the lead to one, 24-23, but a Pirate attack error ended the set in Nova's favor.

SET 2:
The Hall scored the first four points of the second set, but Villanova responded with an 11-5 run to jump ahead, 11-9. With the score tied at 16, the Wildcats scored five straight points to pull away. A late kill by Emilee Turner (Kaysville, Utah) cut the Nova lead to 23-22, but again Villanova was able to hold on for a 25-23 win. For the second straight set, the Pirates fell despite having a better attack percentage.

SET 3:
The final set of the match was by far the closest, featuring four lead changes and 16 ties. Neither team took a lead of greater than two points for the entirety of the set. Trailing 23-22, Seton Hall tied the score on a kill by Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.), but the Wildcats finished the match with back-to-back kills.

Inside the Numbers:

Coffey had a double-double with a team-high 26 assists to go with 11 digs and five kills.
Hennigan led the Pirates with nine kills.
Freshman Eden Dolezal (La Porte, Ind.) nearly had a double-double with a team-high 16 digs to go with eight assists.
Junior Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) again had an efficient night with seven kills and only one attack error. She also had a team-high six blocks.
Seton Hall recorded a .203 attack percentage for the match, while Villanova attacked at .205.
The Hall had 39 team kills, while the Wildcats had 44.
The Pirates totaled 61 team digs, while Villanova had 57.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall fall to 8-16 overall and 3-8 in the BIG EAST, while Villanova improves to 12-11 overall and 5-6 in conference play.
The Pirates are now 16-28 all-time against Villanova and were swept in the 2018 season series.
The Pirates fall to 5-10 in three-set matches.
Coffey notched the team-leading 36^th double-double of her career and her fifth of the season.

Up Next:
The Pirates will return to action on Friday, Oct. 26 when it travels to Cincinnati for a BIG EAST contest at Xavier. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.