Wilkins, Rachwal Shine, but Pirates Fall in Five Sets

Saturday, November 9

South Orange, N.J.

8:00 PM

Seton Hall University

7-21, 2-12

Xavier

10-14, 7-7

Xavier

Seton Hall

Wilkins, Rachwal Shine, but Pirates Fall in Five Sets

11/9/2019 11:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Freshman Julia Wilkins (Mason, Ohio) poured in a career-high 19 kills and Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) had 12 kills and only one attack error, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team fell in five sets to Xavier, 3-2 (27-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-25, 18-20), on Saturday.

It was a tough weekend for the injured, undermanned Pirates who fell in five sets for the second straight night after winning the first two sets.

Rachwal had a team-best .393 attack percentage, five digs and four blocks in addition to her 12 kills.

Both Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) both notched double-doubles. Gasser finished with 11 kills and a career-high 19 digs, while Cvelbar had a team-high 31 assists and 10 digs.

SET 1:
The first set was close with neither team grabbing a lead greater than three points. With the score tied at 18, Seton Hall scored three straight to grab a 21-18 advantage late. Xavier rallied, and eventually tied the score at 24. The Musketeers staved off another set point until block assists by Rachwal and Cvelbar won the set for Seton Hall, 27-25.

SET 2:
Amazingly, set two was even closer with the teams combining for 14 ties and eight lead changes. Trailing 11-10, the Pirates went on a 7-2 run, and a kill by Rachwal gave them a 17-13 lead. The Musketeers bounced back with a run of their own and re-took the lead, 21-20. The Hall scored the next two points to jump back ahead, and never trailed again. With the score tied at 24, a kill by Wilkins put the Pirates in set point, and an ace by Elizabeth Sottung (Westfield, N.J.) put set two in the win column for Seton Hall, 26-24.

SET 3:
With the score tied at eight in set three, Xavier scored eight of the next 11 points to grab a 16-11 advantage. The lead grew to as many as six points for the Musketeers, and the Pirates were forced to play catch-up for the remainder of the set. Xavier went on to win the set, 25-21.

SET 4:
Set four was dominated by the Musketeers. Leading 13-11, Xavier went on an 11-2 run to enter set point with a commanding 24-13 advantage. The Pirates scored twice more, but fell, 25-15.

SET 5:
Despite dropping sets three and four, The Hall seemed poised to claim the fifth set, and therefore the match. A kill by Madison Salkowski (Cold Spring, Ky.) gave the Pirates a 9-5 lead, but Xavier responded with four straight points to tie the set at nine. A kill by Reece Koehler (Stillwater, Minn.) gave The Hall match point, 14-12, but the Musketeers were able to fend off two match points to tie the score at 14. A kill by Gasser again put the Pirates on a cusp of a win, but Xavier was able to again tie the score at 15. Seton Hall then fended off two match points, tying the score at 16 and 17. Blocks by Rachwal and Emilee Turner (Kaysville, Utah) gave The Hall its fourth match point, 18-17, but Xavier closed out the match with three straight points, 20-18.

Inside the Numbers:

Wilkins finished with a career-high 19 kills to lead the Pirates.
Rachwal had 12 kills, only one attack error, and a .393 attack percentage, five digs and four blocks.
Gasser had a double-double with 11 kills and a career-high 19 digs.
Cvelbar had a double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs.
Sottung registered 10 digs and four service aces.
Seton Hall recorded a .176 attack percentage for the match, while Xavier attacked at .231.
The Pirates had 63 kills, while the Musketeers recorded 80.
The Hall finished with 79 digs, while Xavier tallied 103.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 7-21 overall and 2-12 in BIG EAST Conference play.
The Pirates are now 3-11 all-time against Xavier.
The Hall is now 1-3 in five-set matches this season after dropping a pair this weekend.
Seton Hall's 79 team digs are a season-high.
Cvelbar and Gasser recorded double-doubles for a second straight night. Cvelbar's double-double is her team-leading 11^th of the season and the 26^th of her career, while Gasser's double-double is her sixth of the season/career.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, Nov. 15 when it makes the short trip to Queens, N.Y. for a contest at St. John's. Match time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.