Pirates Set to Open 2018 Season

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall women's volleyball team will open the 2018 regular season on Friday as part of the Blue & White Classic, hosted by the University at Buffalo. The Pirates will face North Dakota State at noon on Friday, before taking on the hosts at 6:30 p.m. The Hall will wrap up the season-opening tournament with a contest against Niagara at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Despite losing only three impact players from a year ago, the Pirates will have a much different look entering the 2018 season, both on the court and the sidelines. Former assistant coach and Pirate great Allie Matters left to take the head coaching job at Wright State University, which opened the door to welcoming a pair of new assistant coaches to The Hall, Simone Asque and Chris Weathers.

Asque comes to South Orange after serving as an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina last fall. A former ACC standout at the University of Virginia, Asque played for the Jamaican National Team. Weathers returns to the Pirates five years after graduating from Seton Hall. He was a manager for Yaeger's squad as an undergraduate, but most recently was an assistant coach at Elmira College.

Although her playing career came to a close last fall, the Pirates will still be able to utilize the volleyball expertise of Dominique Mason. The 2018 graduate will serve as a volunteer assistant coach for the team this season.

Sharay Barnes and Sarah Kenneweg also graduated from last year's squad, but Coach Yaeger likes the experience returning for the Pirates in 2018 and a trio of newcomers that will help bolster the lineup. The Pirates were picked to finish fifth in the 10-team BIG EAST this season, as selected by the conference coaches in the preseason poll. The Hall has consistently out-performed the poll's predictions during the Yaeger era, still the fifth place selection is the team's highest since being picked fourth in 2013.

HITTERS

Claire Forrest, Cherise Hennigan, Caitlin Koska, Abby Thelen and Emilee Turner

Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) have the vast majority of experience among this group. Thelen will likely be the Pirates' primary offensive weapon again year. A First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2017, she led the Pirates in kills and is only 58 away from becoming the 11^th player in Seton Hall history to reach 1,000 for her career.

Koska set career-highs in kills, kills per set, attacks and blocks as a junior, and is expected to become a regular starter. Senior Cherise Hennigan (Corona, Calif.) and freshmen Claire Forrest (Pasadena, Calif) and Emilee Turner (Kaysville, Utah) will provide significant depth. Turner, the tallest Pirate on the team at 6-foot-4 is the Pirates' likely starter on the right side.

SETTERS

Sophia Coffey and Maggie Cvelbar

Last year, the Pirates used primarily a 6-2 offense, and therefore got good use of both of their standout setters, Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) and Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio). Having served as a setter for the last three years, Coffey enters her senior campaign ranked sixth all-time at Seton Hall with over 2,500 career assists and 19^th with exactly 800 career digs.

Cvelbar took a major step forward in her second year in South Orange. The sophomore played in all 119 sets, collected six double-doubles and ranked second, only to Coffey, with 4.64 assists per set.

BLOCKERS

Haylee Gasser, Amanda Rachwal and Madison Salkowski

All three of Seton Hall's main middle blockers return in 2018, although junior Madison Salkowski (Cold Spring, Ky.) will likely miss the season due to injury. Junior Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) returns to bolster the middle, having played in every set in each of her first two seasons.

Sophomore Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) missed some time due to an injury during her freshman year, but her talent was evident during her 64 sets on the court. Rachwal led the Pirates with 0.88 blocks per set and a .283 attack percentage.

LIBEROS/DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS

Eden Dolezal, Miranda Higginbotham, Elizabeth Sottung

Senior Miranda Higginbotham (Dallas, Texas) is the most experienced of the Pirates' back line entering the 2018 season. She has played in 68 matches through her first three seasons and is approaching 500 digs for her career.

Elizabeth Sottung (Westfield, N.J.) and Eden Dolezal (La Porte, Ind.) will provide defensive depth as well with Dolezal a candidate to start the season at libero. The Pirates have had a rich tradition in developing strong liberos, and with the graduation of Kenneweg, the proverbial baton appears poised to be passed yet again.