Thelen Fuels Pirates to Four-Set Win Over Friars

Friday, November 2

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

9-18, 4-10

Providence

8-16, 2-11

Providence

Seton Hall

11/2/2018 9:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had a match-high 20 kills to lead the Seton Hall women's volleyball team to a four-set victory over Providence, 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 26-24), on Friday at Walsh Gym.

Thelen was brilliant, recording 20 kills, and only three attack errors, for an impressive .459 attack percentage. Showing her defensive mettle today, she also recorded a season-high five blocks.

SET 1:
Seton Hall set the tone of the match early with a strong offensive first set. Trailing, 6-4, the Pirates scored five of the next six points, and an ace by Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) put them on top, 9-7. After Providence cut the Pirate lead to 20-17, The Hall responded with four straight points, the last of which, a kill by Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.), put them in set point. Seton Hall went on to win the opener, 25-18, and had a match-high. .333 attack percentage.

SET 2:
The Pirates kept the momentum early in set two, jumping out to a 9-2 lead, but Providence responded with a 17-4 outburst, which forced a pair of Seton Hall timeouts, and vaulted them in front, 19-13. The Hall twice cut the deficit to three points, but couldn't draw closer, and fell, 25-21.

SET 3:
The Hall bounced back in the third set, jumping out to another large early lead, but this time, they kept it throughout the set. A 6-1 spurt pushed the Pirates out to a commanding 15-6 advantage, and never looked back. On three occasions, the Friars cut their deficit to just two points, but The Hall scored the last four points of the set to win, 25-18. Points 23 and 24 for The Hall were blocks by Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.), and the clinching point was on a Rachwal kill.

SET 4:
The fourth set was by far the closest of the match, featuring 14 ties along the way. Providence scored five of the first six points to force an early Seton Hall timeout, but the Pirates bounced back to tie the score at seven with a 6-2 burst of their own. From then on, either team took a lead of greater than two points for the remainder of the set. Trailing 23-22, a service ace by Coffey tied the score, and a Providence attack error put the Pirates in match point, 24-23. After the Friars tied the set at 24, Thelen's 20^th kill of the night put the Pirates on the cusp of a victory again, 25-24. Another PC error followed to hand the win to The Hall.

Inside the Numbers:

Thelen had a match-high 20 kills, only three attack errors, a .459 attack error and a season-high five blocks.
Coffey had a team-high 40 assists to go with seven digs and two aces.
Koska had nine kills, nine digs and three blocks.
Junior Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finished with nine kills.
Rachwal had six kills and a team-high six blocks.
Freshman Eden Dolezal (La Porte, Ind.) had a match-high 23 digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .235 attack percentage for the match, while Providence attacked at .161.
Both teams finished with exactly 50 kills and 65 digs.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 9-18 overall and 4-10 in the BIG EAST, while Providence falls to 8-16 overall and 2-11 in conference play.
The Pirates improve to 17-15 all-time against the Friars.
The Pirates improve to 2-7 in four-set matches.
Thelen reached the 15-kill mark for the third straight match, 10^th time this season and the 33^rd time in her career.
Coffey reached the 40-assist mark for the sixth time this season and the 21^st time in her career.
Dolezal reached the 20-dig mark for the third time in her collegiate career.

Up Next:
The Pirates will be back in action tomorrow when they take on defending BIG EAST champion No. 9 Creighton. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.