Pirates Take On Hofstra Invitational This Weekend

2018 HOFSTRA ASICS INVITATIONAL
Hempstead, N.Y. – David S. Mack Center

SETON HALL (4-6) vs. DARTMOUTH (2-4)

Date

Time

Live Video

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Twitter

Friday,
Sept. 14

2:00 PM ET

None

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

SETON HALL (4-6) vs. COLUMBIA (3-3)

Date

Time

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Twitter

Saturday,
Sept. 15

3:00 PM ET

None

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@SHUVolley

SETON HALL (4-6) at HOFSTRA (8-3)

Date

Time

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Saturday,
Sept. 15

7:00 PM ET

Pride
Productions

None

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@SHUVolley

PREVIEW
The Pirates will return to action this weekend at the Hofstra Asics Invitational when it faces Dartmouth, Columbia and the host Pride in Hempstead, N.Y. The Hall will open the weekend against Dartmouth on Friday at 2:00 p.m. On Saturday, Seton Hall will take on Columbia at 10:30 a.m. before Hofstra at 7:00 p.m.

LAST WEEKEND
Last weekend, the Pirates went out to Santa Barbara, California, a homecoming for four current Pirates. Seton Hall opened the event with a three-set sweep of Sacred Heart on Friday. Senior Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) led The Hall with 10 kills in the victory.

On Saturday, the Pirates fell in three sets to Texas Tech, before dropping a tough four-set match to host UC Santa Barbara. Junior Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) had a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs against the Gauchos. Koska had a career-high 17 kills.

On Tuesday, Seton Hall returned to Walsh Gym and dropped a four-set match to Princeton. The Pirates won the opening set, but fell in the next three, including a heart-breaking 26-24 set four. Three Pirates, Cvelbar, Koska and Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) recorded double-doubles in the setback.

SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
Seton Hall and Dartmouth have only met two other times in history with the Pirates prevailing in both. The last meeting was a Seton Hall sweep in Walsh Gym on Sept. 20, 2014.

The Big Green are coming off a 10-13 season in 2017.

Dartmouth enters the weekend with a 2-4 overall record, but is coming off a 2-1 weekend at their own Dartmouth Invitational. The Big Green was swept by Boston College, but swept both Siena and Lafayette. Darmouth opened the season with a BIG EAST opponent, Villanova, and lost in straight sets to the Wildcats in Annapolis, Md.

Dartmouth was picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Ivy League in the 2018 preseason coaches poll.

SCOUTING COLUMBIA
This will be the seventh meeting all-time between Seton Hall and Columbia. The Pirates have never lost to the Tigers, owning a perfect 6-0 record in those matches. The last time the teams squared off was on Sept. 21, 2013, a five-set Pirate win at the Cavalier Classic, hosted by the University of Virginia.

The Tigers are coming off a 10-13 season in 2017.

Columbia enters the weekend with a 3-3 record, but will play a pair of matches on Friday against St. Francis (N.Y.) and Fordham in the Big Apple Battle, before heading to Hempstead on Saturday. The Tigers are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Blue Hen Invitational. They were swept by Grand Canyon on Friday, but bounced back with a sweep of Marist and a five-set win against host Delaware on Saturday.

Columbia was picked to finish sixth in the eight-team Ivy League in the 2018 preseason coaches poll.

SCOUTING HOFSTRA
This will be the 14^th all-time meeting between Seton Hall and Hofstra, with the Pride owning a slim 7-6 all-time series lead. Most recently, Hofstra swept the Pirates in Walsh Gym on Sept. 12 of last season. Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had a team-high 12 kills, while Coffey had a double-double in only three sets in that match.

The Pride is coming off an 18-14 season in 2017. Their season ended with a five-set loss to the College of Charleston in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association championship tournament.

Hofstra enters this weekend with an 8-3 record. After dropping their season opener, they won six straight matches, five of which in straight sets. Last weekend, the Pride lost two of three matches in San Francisco, falling to the host Dons in five sets on Friday before sweeping Southern Utah and losing in four sets at St. Mary's on Saturday.

Most recently, Hofstra had an impressive road sweep of BIG EAST foe St. John's in Queens on Tuesday.

Hofstra was picked to finish third in the nine-team CAA preseason coaches poll. Junior Laura Masciullo was named Preseason Player of the Year.