Thelen, Koska Fuel Pirates Opening Day Comeback

Friday, August 24

Buffalo, N.Y.

12:00 PM

Seton Hall University

North Dakota State

Seton Hall

8/24/2018 3:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Seniors Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) combined for 32 kills as the Seton Hall women's volleyball team rallied from a one-set deficit to defeat North Dakota State, 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 27-25, 25-20), on Friday in the 2018 regular season opener.

Thelen registered a match-high 18 kills to go with seven digs and two blocks, while Koska had 14 kills and nine blocks in the Pirates' opening round victory of the Blue & White Classic, hosted by the University at Buffalo. Junior Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) and senior Miranda Higginbotham (Dallas, Texas) also had big matches. Cvelbar notched a double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs, while Higginbotham had a career-high 23 digs to go with four aces.

SET 1:
The Pirates never led in set one and had an attack percentage of just .075. Leading 9-7, North Dakota State scored five straight to open a 14-7 advantage. Trailing 22-13, The Hall scored six of the next eight points to pull to within five, but ultimately the Bison claimed set one, 25-20.

SET 2:
Seton Hall opened the second set on fire, scoring nine of the first 10 points, capped by an ace from Higginbotham. After NDSU cut the Pirate lead to 12-6, The Hall took off again with an 8-1 run to take a commanding 20-7 advantage. The Pirates went on to even the match with a 25-14 set two victory, led primarily by their defense. The Hall had 17 digs and held NDSU to a -.129 attack percentage.

SET 3:
The third set was a much closer affair than the prior two with the teams combining for nine lead changes and 17 ties. Trailing 10-9, the Pirates scored five of the next seven points, and another ace by Higginbotham put them in front, 14-11, and prompted an NDSU timeout. Out of the break however, the Bison scored five of the next six points to take a 16-15 lead. From there, the set was tied six more times before North Dakota State grabbed a 24-22 lead and entered set point. The resilient Pirates however, bounced back with three straight points, and a kill by Thelen put them in set point, 25-24. After NDSU tied it one last time, another kill by Thelen put the Pirates in set point, and a Koska kill ended the set in The Hall's favor, 27-25.

SET 4:
The Pirates found themselves in an early 8-3 hole to begin the fourth set. Out of a timeout however, Seton Hall's offense exploded with a 12-3 run, capped by a Thelen kill that gave it a 15-11 lead. Although, at one point, NDSU cut the Pirate lead down to just one point, The Hall never trailed again. Clinging to a 19-18 lead, the Pirates ended the match with a 6-2 burst. Koska scored the final point for Seton Hall in a 25-20 set four win.

Inside the Numbers:

Thelen had a match-high 18 kills to go with seven digs and two blocks.
Koska had 14 kills and nine blocks.
Cvelbar tallied a double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs.
Higginbotham had a career-high 23 digs to go with four aces and three assists.
Senior Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) had a team-high 21 assists to go with eight digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .161 attack percentage for the match, while NDSU attacked at .136.
The Hall had 50 team kills, while North Dakota State had 45.
The Pirates totaled 62 team digs, while the Bison had 64.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 3-4 in season openers during the head coach Allison Yaeger era. It's the second straight year the Pirates have opened with a win.
With 18 kills today, Thelen now has 960 for her career, which ranks 11^th most all-time at Seton Hall. She needs just 40 more to reach 1,000 for her career.
This was the first-ever match between Seton Hall and North Dakota State.
Cvelbar's double-double is the eighth of her career.
Thelen reached the 15-kill mark for the 23^rd time in her career.
Higginbotham reached the 20-dig mark for the first time in her collegiate career.
Coffey played in her 94^th consecutive match, which leads all active Pirates. She has not missed a match since arriving in South Orange prior to the 2015 season.
Freshman Emilee Turner (Kaysville, Utah) made her collegiate debut. She finished with four kills and four blocks.