Pirates Travel to Creighton, PC This Weekend

OMAHA, NEBRASKA – D.J. Sokol Arena

SETON HALL (5-13, 0-5) at No. 10 CREIGHTON (12-4, 4-0)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Friday,
Oct. 5

8:00 PM ET

None

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – Alumni Hall

SETON HALL (5-13, 0-5) at PROVIDENCE (7-8, 1-3)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Sunday,
Oct. 7

1:00 PM ET

Friars
All-Access

None

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

PREVIEW
The Pirates will return to action this weekend when it travels to Omaha, Neb. for a contest against BIG EAST defending champion Creighton on Friday, followed by a match at Providence on Sunday.

LAST MATCH
The Pirates had only one match last weekend and fell to local BIG EAST rival St. John's in Queens. The Hall received six kills and a team-high 13 digs from senior Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.), but it ultimately fell in three sets to the Red Storm, 15-25, 23-25, 17-25. Senior Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) finished with 11 assists and six digs.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON
Seton Hall and Creighton will meet for the 13^th time in history on Friday, with the Bluejays having won nine of the prior meetings, including the 2014 BIG EAST Championship Game. Last year, Creighton swept the Pirates in the home-and-home season series.

Last year, Creighton, swept both contests. On Sept. 29 in Walsh Gym, the Pirates fell in straight sets, despite a spirited first set, 26-24, loss. Both Koska and Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had eight kills, while Coffey had a team-high 22 assists to go with eight digs. In Omaha on Oct. 22, the result was the same with Thelen leading The Hall with nine kills. Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) had a team-high 15 assist to go with seven digs.

On the heels of their fourth straight BIG EAST championship, Creighton is off to another strong start in 2018. The Bluejays are currently ranked 10^th in the nation in the AVCA national poll and are 12-4 overall with a perfect 4-0 mark in conference play. Creighton has lost only two sets so far in conference play with victories over DePaul, Butler, Xavier and an impressive three-set win over preseason favorite No. 21 Marquette. Three of Creighton's four losses this season have come to teams ranked in the top-10.

Creighton was picked to finish second in the 10-team BIG EAST Conference according to the 2018 Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Senior outside hitters Taryn Kloth and Jaali Winters, as well as junior libero Brittany Witt were each named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.

SCOUTING PROVIDENCE
Seton Hall and Providence will meet for the 31^st time, with each team having won 15 games in the past. The Pirates however, have dominated the series in recent years having won five straight matches and 10 of the last 11. Last year, Seton Hall swept the home-and-home season series.

On Sept. 30 last year in Walsh Gym, the Pirates swept Providence. Thelen had 10 kills, while Cvelbar tallied a double-double with 13 assists and 11 digs. In Providence on Oct. 20, The Hall defeated the Friars in four sets, including an epic, 28-26, set three victory. Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) registered a career-high 13 kills, only five attack errors and a team-best four blocks in the victory. Thelen had 10 kills, and Coffey finished one dig shy of a double-double with 25 assists and nine digs.

Providence has steadily improved since rejoining the BIG EAST Conference in volleyball prior to the start of the 2014 season. The Friars won six conference matches last year, and finished the season with an overall record above .500 (17-16). This season, they're continuing that improvement trend and enter the weekend with a 7-8 overall record and a 1-3 mark in BIG EAST play. The Friars' lone BIG EAST victory came in a five-set marathon vs. DePaul on Sept. 23. Most recently, they were swept on the road by both Xavier and Butler last weekend.

Providence will take on St. John's on Friday before visiting hosting the Pirates on Sunday.

The Friars were picked to finish in ninth place in the 2018 Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Junior outside hitter Addison Root was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.