Pirates Fall as Butler Rallies in Indianapolis

Saturday, October 27

Indianapolis, IN / Hinkle Fieldhouse

6:00 PM

Seton Hall University

8-18, 3-10BIG EAST

Butler

8-17, 5-8BIG EAST

Seton Hall

Butler

10/27/2018 8:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – Senior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had a team-high 18 kills, and both seniors Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) and Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) notched double-doubles, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team fell at Butler, 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 21-25, 27-29), on Saturday.

Thelen had 18 kills and three blocks. Coffey had a team-high 46 assists to go with 10 digs and two blocks. Koska notched 15 kills and 14 digs for her second straight double-double.

SET 1:
Clinging to a one point lead in set one, 12-11, the Pirates went on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 19-12 advantage. Butler cut the lead to four late, 23-19, but a kill by Thelen put The Hall in set point, and a block by Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) and Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) won it, 25-19. The Pirates had a .294 attack percentage in the first set, and Thelen had five kills with no attack errors.

SET 2:
Butler came out strong in the second set. Already leading, 6-5, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to race ahead of the Pirates, 14-5. Trailing 16-8, The Hall scored four of the next five points, fueled by three straight kills by Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.), to cut the lead to 17-12 and force a Butler timeout. A kill by Thelen cut the Bulldog lead to 20-16, but Butler scored five of the final six points of the set to win, 25-17. Butler's attack percentage in set two was .400.

SET 3:
The third set was incredibly close, featuring four lead changes and 10 ties. With the Pirates leading 14-13, Butler scored four straight points and never trailed again. The Hall twice cut the lead to one point, but the Bulldogs were able to hold on for a 25-21 victory.

SET 4:
With the score tied at six in the fourth set, the Pirates scored six of the next eight points, and a kill by Cherise Hennigan (Corona, Calif.) put them in front, 12-8. After Butler cut the Pirate lead to 15-12, Seton Hall scored four of the next five points to jump ahead, 19-13. Trailing 21-16, the Bulldogs scored five of the next six points to force a pair of Pirate timeouts and cut the Seton Hall lead to 22-21. A kill by Hennigan and an ace by Elizabeth Sottung (Westfield, N.J.), put the Pirates in set point, 24-21. Butler rallied however, with four straight points to take a 25-24 lead, and enter match point. A kill by Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) kept the Pirates alive, and tied the score at 25. The Hall entered set point twice more at 26-25, and 27-26, but the Bulldogs scored the last three points of the set to win, 29-27, and claim the match, 3-1.

Inside the Numbers:

Thelen had a team-high 18 kills to go with three blocks.
Koska had a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs.
Coffey had a double-double with a team-high 46 assists to go with 10 digs and two blocks.
Gasser had nine kills, two digs and two blocks.
Hennigan had seven kills and only one attack error.
Freshman Eden Dolezal (La Porte, Ind.) recorded a team-best 17 digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .216 attack percentage for the match, while Butler attacked at .273.
The Hall had 56 kills, while Butler finished with 65.
The Pirates totaled 67 team digs, while the Bulldogs had 73.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 8-18 overall and 3-10 in the BIG EAST, while Butler improves to 8-17 overall and 5-8 in conference play.
The Pirates are now 5-7 all-time against the Bulldogs.
The Pirates fall to 1-7 in four-set matches.
Thelen reached the 15-kill mark for the ninth time this season and the 32^nd time in her career. It's also the second time this weekend, she has topped 15 kills.
Coffey reached the 40-assist mark for the fifth time this season and the 20^th time in her career.
Koska's double-double is her ninth of the season.
Coffey notched the team-leading 37^th double-double of her career and her sixth of the season.

Up Next:
The Pirates will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 2 when they return to Walsh Gymnasium for a BIG EAST Conference contest against Providence. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.