Pirates Host Butler / Xavier at Walsh This Weekend

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Walsh Gymnasium

SETON HALL (5-9, 0-1) vs. BUTLER (3-9, 0-0)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Friday,
Sept. 21

7:00 PM ET

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

SETON HALL (5-9, 0-1) vs. XAVIER (2-9, 0-0)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Saturday,
Sept. 22

7:00 PM ET

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

PREVIEW
The Pirates will return to action this weekend when it hosts a pair of BIG EAST Conference opponents at Walsh Gym. The Hall will face Butler on Friday, and Xavier on Saturday. Both match times are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and both events will be carried live on the Pirate Sports Network.

LAST MATCH
Seton Hall opened BIG EAST Conference play on Wednesday with a hard-fought four-set loss at Villanova. Senior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) erupted for a season-high 20 kills with only two attack errors. Three Pirates, Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.), Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) and Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.) all recorded double-doubles in the setback. Sophomore Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) also had a strong match with a career-high nine kills, only one attack error and four blocks.

SCOUTING BUTLER
Seton Hall and Butler will meet for the 11^th time in history on Friday, with the teams evenly splitting the prior 10 meetings, 5-5. Last year however, the Bulldogs swept the Pirates in the home-and-home season series.

Last year, Butler swept the Pirates in Indianapolis on Oct. 7 despite 13 kills by Koska. Cvelbar had a double-double in the road loss. A month later, The Hall took a set from Butler, but ultimately fell in four-sets. Koska and Thelen had 11 kills apiece. Coffey had a double-double. The Bulldogs went on to a 13-5 final BIG EAST record to claim the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Championship. They fell in the semifinals in four sets to Marquette.

Butler has gotten off to a slow start so far in 2018, and enters the weekend with a 3-9 overall record. Although the record is subpar, it's important to note the quality of opponents the Bulldogs have faced. Butler has lost to Pepperdine, No. 24 Cal Poly, Auburn, Arkansas and No. 20 Pittsburgh, a common opponent that the Pirates also fell against. Butler has won two straight matches after taking down both Santa Clara and Kent State last weekend at the Bulldog Brawl in straight sets.

Butler was picked to repeat as the third place team according to the 2018 Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Middle Blocker Bri Lilly was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

SCOUTING XAVIER
Seton Hall and Xavier will also meet for the 11^th time, but the Musketeers have dominated the matchup having won seven of the prior meetings. Last year, the teams split the home-and-home season series with each team registering a road victory.

On Oct. 6 last year in Cincinnati, the Pirates earned a four-set victory. Koska recorded a match-high 14 kills, with only three attack errors. Cvelbar had a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs. In Seton Hall's season finale however, the Musketeers won a grueling five-set match at Walsh Gym. Thelen had 16 kills and 11 digs, one of five Pirates to record a double-double in the match. Coffey, Cvelbar and 2018 graduates Dominique Mason and Sarah Kenneweg also notched double-doubles.

Xavier has also gotten off to a slow start this season, with wins in only two of its first 11 matches. Like Butler however, the Musketeers have also played a very strong non-conference schedule, dropping matches to high-major conference teams as Oklahoma, Missouri, Arizona State, No. 19 Purdue, Louisville, Indiana, and most recently, Cincinnati. Last weekend, the Musketeers went 1-2 at the Queen City Classic, defeating Eastern Kentucky, but falling to the aforementioned Bearcats and Indiana.

Xavier will take on St. John's on Friday before visiting Walsh Gym on Saturday.

The Musketeers were picked to tie for sixth place in the 2018 Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll.