Pirates Drop Five-Set Heart-Breaker at Hofstra

Saturday, September 15

Hempstead, NY

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

4-8

Hofstra

10-4

Seton Hall

Hofstra

9/15/2018 9:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Senior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had a team-high 16 kills, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team lost a heart-breaker at Hofstra after winning the first two sets, 3-2 (25-17, 25-19, 11-25, 13-25, 17-19), on Saturday evening.

The Pirates appeared poised to improve to 2-1 at the Hofstra Invitational after easily winning the first two sets, but the Pride batted back to tie the score before winning an epic fifth set, 19-17.

SET 1:
Trailing 3-2 early in set one, Seton Hall scored four straight, and a kill by Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.) put it in front, 6-3. The Pirates never trailed again. Leading 20-15, The Hall scored five of the final seven points, and a kill by Thelen gave it a 25-17 win.

SET 2:
After nine ties, the Pirates finally gained a late advantage, 20-18, on a kill by Thelen. Hofstra scored the next point, but Seton Hall won the set by scoring the last five points. An ace by Coffey put the Pirates in set point, and Thelen's eighth kill of the match won it, 25-19. Seton Hall connected on a match-high .389 attack percentage in the second set.

SET 3:
Hofstra scored five of the first six points of the third set to claim early control. Leading 10-6, the Pride went on an 11-2 run to take a commanding 21-8 advantage. The Pirates scored two in a row, but Hofstra ended the set with four of the next five points. The 25-11 victory for the Pride cut their match deficit to 2-1. The Pirates went from a match-high 389 attack percentage in set two, to a match low -.136 in set three. Conversely, Hofstra connected at a .520 clip in the third set.

SET 4:
A block by Emilee Turner (Kaysville, Utah) put the Pirates in front, 10-7, in set four. Out of a timeout however, Hofstra went on a 9-1 run to assume control of the set and take a 16-11 advantage. The Hall scored back-to-back points to cut the lead to three, but the Pride answered with a dominant 9-0 run to close out the set, 25-13, and tied the match at two sets apiece.

SET 5:
The Pirates scored four of the first five points in the final set. With The Hall ahead, 7-3, Hofstra called a timeout, and then rallied to tie the score at eight, which forced a Seton Hall timeout. A kill by Thelen put Seton Hall back in front, 12-11, but Hofstra rallied again and after two ties, entered match point leading, 14-13. Back-to-back kills by Thelen and Koska put the Pirates in match point, ahead 15-14, but Hofstra tied the score at 15. The Pride staved off two more match points with Seton Hall ahead, 16-15 and 17-16, before finishing the match with three straight points to win, 19-17.

Inside the Numbers:

Thelen finished with a team-high 16 kills to go with five digs.
Koska had a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs.
Senior Miranda Higginbotham (Dallas, Texas) had a team-high 19 digs to go with seven assists.
Seton Hall recorded a .225 attack percentage for the match, while Hofstra attacked at .315.
The Hall had 49 team kills, while the Pride had 65.
The Pirates totaled 56 team digs, while Hofstra had 65.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 5-8 on the season, while Hofstra improves to 10-4.
The Pirates are now 6-8 all-time against Hofstra.
The Pirates fall to 1-1 in five-set matches.
Thelen reached the 15-kill mark for the fourth time this season and the 27^th time in her career.
Koska's double-double is her fourth of the season.

Up Next:
The Pirates will return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 19 when they begin the BIG EAST portion of their schedule at Villanova. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.