Pirates Head to Akron Invitational This Weekend

AKRON INVITATIONAL
AKRON, OHIO – James A. Rhodes Arena

SETON HALL (2-6) vs. EASTERN KENTUCKY (3-4)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Friday,
Sept. 13

4:00 PM ET

None

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

AKRON, OHIO – James A. Rhodes Arena

SETON HALL (2-6) vs. SAINT FRANCIS (0-6)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Saturday,
Sept. 14

10:00 AM ET

None

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

AKRON, OHIO – James A. Rhodes Arena

SETON HALL (2-6) at AKRON (2-4)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Saturday,
Sept. 14

7:00 PM ET

Zips Digital
Network

None

LIVE STATS

@SHUVolley

PREVIEW
Seton Hall will return to the road this weekend for three matches at the Akron Invitational. The Pirates will face Eastern Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 13 at 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, The Hall will take on Saint Francis at 10:00 a.m. before facing the tournament hosts, Akron, at 7:00 p.m. Live stats will be available for all three contests. Only the match against Akron will be video streamed live at GoZips.com.

LAST WEEKEND
The Pirates made their 2019 Walsh Gym debut last weekend with the Seton Hall Classic. Freshman Grace Rosenberg (Lido Beach, N.Y.) finished one dig shy of a double-double, but the Pirates fell to Northern Arizona, 3-0 (12-25, 20-25, 12-25), in their first match on Friday. In the nightcap, junior Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) had six kills and no attack errors, but The Hall fell to La Salle, 3-0 (17-25, 17-25, 19-25).

On Saturday, freshman Julia Wilkins (Mason, Ohio) tallied a career-high 16 kills, and classmate Reagan Hopp (Carmel, Ind.) had a double-double as the Pirates defeated Binghamton, 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 19-25, 25-14). Wilkins was brilliant, compiling a team-best 16 kills with only five attack errors for a .344 attack percentage. Hopp had a career-best 14 kills to go with 13 digs and three blocks in a sparkling all-around effort. A third freshman, Rosenberg, picked up a career-high 39 assists to go with five digs and five kills.

In the final match of the Seton Hall Classic, senior Haylee Gasser (Mission Viejo, Calif.) erupted for a career-high 17 kills, but the Pirates fell to Northeastern, 3-1 (17-25, 26-24, 12-25, 17-25), in a very hard-fought setback. Amid Gasser's monster offensive performance, she recorded her first career double-double, totaling 11 digs to go with four blocks. Rosenberg also tallied her first career double-double, recording a match-high 35 assists to go with 12 digs.

WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday, Gasser recorded a match-high 16 kills as the Pirates swept Iona, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-13). Gasser led all players with 16 kills to go with eight digs and two service aces. Rosenberg picked up her second career double-double with a match-high 32 assists and 11 digs.

SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY
Seton Hall and Eastern Kentucky will open the tournament with the first-ever meeting between the programs.

Eastern Kentucky is coming off a tough season, which brought a final record of just 5-23, including a 3-0 loss to BIG EAST foe Xavier on Sept. 14.

This season, Eastern Kentucky is picked to finish last in the 12-team Ohio Valley Conference. They're off to a 3-4 start entering the weekend and won two of three contests last weekend at the UNC-Asheville Tournament. They defeated Dartmouth and North Carolina A&T State in straight sets. Most recently, they were swept at Western Kentucky on Tuesday.

SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS
Seton Hall and Saint Francis will meet for the third time in history on Saturday, with the Pirates having won both prior meetings. Most recently, the Pirates swept a contest in Morgantown, W.Va. on Sept. 13, 2014.

The Red Flash are also coming off a rough 2018, finishing with a 5-22 final overall record. Saint Francis didn't play any BIG EAST teams last year, but did square off against Iona, who the Pirates faced Wednesday. The Red Flash lost in straight sets.

This season, Saint Francis was picked to finish seventh in the nine-team Northeast Conference preseason poll. The Red Flash enter the weekend winless in six matches so far in 2019. They're coming off three losses last weekend at the UMBC Tournament, winning only one set. They fell to the hosts UMBC and Delaware on Friday, before falling to George Mason in four sets on Saturday.

SCOUTING AKRON
Seton Hall and Akron will meet for the fourth time in history on Saturday with the Zips having won all three prior encounters. Most recently, Akron defeated Seton Hall, 3-1, at the Robert Morris Invitational on Sept. 4, 2004.

Akron is coming off an 11-16 overall record in 2018, but they were 7-6 playing at James A. Rhodes Arena.

The Zips are picked to finish last in the six-team East Division of the Mid-American Conference in 2019.

So far this season, Akron is 2-4 and is coming of a 1-2 showing last weekend at the Xavier Tournament in Cincinnati. The Zips were swept by William & Mary, before edging the Musketeers in five-sets on Friday. On Saturday, Akron fell in straight sets to Wright State.