Pirates Drop Five-Set Thriller at Morgan State

Friday, August 30

Baltimore, Md.

1:00 PM

Seton Hall University

0-1

Morgan State

1-0

Seton Hall

Morgan State

8/30/2019 10:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

BALTIMORE, MD. – The Seton Hall women's volleyball team twice rallied from a set deficit, but ultimately fell in five sets to tournament host Morgan State, 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 5-15), in its 2019 season-opener.

Senior Maggie Cvelbar (Euclid, Ohio) tallied a double-double with 29 points and 10 digs in the loss. Junior Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) led The Hall with a career-high 11 kills to go with just one attack error and a team-best .625 attack percentage.

SET 1:
Seton Hall scored the first point of the match on a Morgan State attack error, but the Bears then went on a 12-3 run and never trailed again. Back-to-back kills by Reece Koehler (Stillwater, Minn.) cut The Hall's deficit to 17-11, but the Bears scored the next three points to extend their lead to 20-11 and force a Pirate timeout. A kill by Emilee Turner (Kaysville, Utah) brought the Pirates to within five late, 23-18, but Morgan State scored the final two points to take a 1-0 match lead.

SET 2:
The Pirates bounced back in set two. Trailing 9-8, The Hall went on a 6-2 run to take a 14-11 advantage. The Pirates never trailed again. The Bears cut the Pirates' lead to 18-17, but Seton Hall responded with six straight points to enter set point, 24-18. Three points later, the Pirates won, 25-19, to tie the match.

SET 3:
The closest set of the match was set three, which featured 13 ties. Trailing 17-12, The Hall went on a 6-1 run and a kill by Turner put them in front, 19-18. The Pirates again fell behind by three, 23-20, but responded with three straight to tie the score at 23. Alas, the Bears tallied the final two points of the set to win, 25-23, and take a 2-1 match lead.

SET 4:
Once again, the Pirates battled back, using 14 kills and just one attack error to lift them to a set four victory. Down 17-13, The Hall went on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 19. With the score tied at 21, a kill by Rachwal gave The Hall the lead, and back-to-back attack errors by the Bears closed out a 25-22 set four victory for Seton Hall.

SET 5:
Similar to the first set, the Pirates scored first, but didn't lead again thereafter. A Morgan State service error cut Seton Hall's deficit to 7-5, but the Bears finished the set, and the match with an 8-0 run to win, 15-5, in the deciding set.

Inside the Numbers:

Cvelbar had a double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs.
Rachwal led the Pirates with a career-high 11 kills to go with only one attack error and a team-best 625 attack percentage.
Koehler had 10 kills, only one attack error, and three blocks in her first career match.
Senior Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with nine kills and a career-high 14 digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .214 attack percentage for the match, while Morgan State attacked at .304.
The Pirates had 45 kills, while the Bears recorded 71.
The Hall finished with 55 digs, while Morgan State tallied 54.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 2-1 all-time against Morgan State.
With the victory, the Pirates fall to 15-18 all-time in season openers.
Cvelbar's double-double is the 16^th of her career, the most of any active player.
With 11 kills tonight, Rachwal surpassed the 200-kill milestone for her career.
With nine kills tonight, Gasser needs just eight more to reach 500 for her career.
With 29 assists tonight, Cvelbar needs just 33 more to reach 1,300 for her career.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it continues play at the Morgan State Invitational. The Pirates will take on Quinnipiac at 10:00 a.m. and then Towson at 2:00 p.m.