Ilieva, Pirates Edged in Five Sets at Villanova

Friday, March 19

Villanova, Pa. / Jake Nevin Field House

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

(3-5, 1-4BE)

Villanova

(4-2, 3-1BE)

Seton Hall

Villanova

3/19/2021 9:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

VILLANOVA, PA. – Freshman Tsvetelina Ilieva (Sofia, Bulgaria) erupted for a career-high 20 kills, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team fell in a wild, back-and-forth match at Villanova, 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 14-25, 30-28, 14-16), on Friday.

No team won two straight sets as the match went the distance, and three times a respective set had to go beyond it's designated win total to find a winner.

Ilieva's 20 kills were a match-high. She also had nine digs and three service aces. Freshman Taylor Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) collected her fifth double-double of the season with 21 assists and 12 digs.

SET 1:
Seton Hall trailed 8-4 early, but bounced back with four straight points to tie the set at eight. Villanova scored the next two points to grab a slim 10-8 advantage and never trailed again. Leading 18-15, the Wildcats scored seven of the final 10 points of the set to win the opener, 25-18. Neither team was especially impressive offensively in the first set, but the Pirates had nine kills and nine attack errors for a .000 attack percentage.

SET 2:
After falling behind early, the Pirates went on a run in set two, and blocks by Ilieva and Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) cut their deficit to 10-9. After cutting the Villanova lead to one point five more times, a kill by Emilee Turner (Kaysville, Utah) finally drew the Pirates even at 19. With the score tied at 21, the Wildcats finally took control with back-to-back points that prompted a Seton Hall timeout. Facing a Villanova set point, down 24-22, the Pirates rallied with four straight points for an improbable 26-24 victory. After a poor performance in the opening set, both teams attacked with at least .400 in the second. The Pirates had a .429 attack percentage.

SET 3:
Villanova raced out to a 9-3 lead to begin the third set. The Wildcats extended their set-opening run to 12-4, which prompted an early Seton Hall timeout. Trailing 14-4, the Pirates scored four of the next five points, and a kill by Ilieva cut their deficit to 15-8. Down 17-10, Villanova went on a 7-1 run to enter set point, 24-11. The Pirates staved off three set points, but ultimately fell, 25-14.

SET 4:
The Hall opened the fourth set on fire offensively, scoring seven of the first eight points. Off a Villanova timeout, a block by Madison Frusha (Huntsville, Texas) put Seton Hall on top, 20-12. After the Wildcats scored two straight, the Pirates called a timeout. Out of the break, back-to-back Villanova service aces prompted the second Seton Hall timeout and cut its lead to 20-16. A kill by Ilieva put the Pirates up, 23-19, but the Wildcats responded with three straight to cut their lead to one. A block by Rachwal put The Hall in set point, 24-22, but Villanova staved off the loss with two straight points. After four more ties, a block by Rachwal and Julia Wilkins (Mason, Ohio) put The Hall in set point, and a Villanova attack error ended the epic set in the Pirates' favor, 30-28.

SET 5:
A Villanova attack error gave The Hall a 5-3 lead in the fifth set, but the Wildcats recovered with four straight points to take a 7-5 advantage. A kill by Rachwal tied the set at 11, but Villanova responded with two straight to take a 13-11 edge, and force a Seton Hall timeout. Lucas tied the set at 13 with back-to-back kills, but with the set tied at 14, Villanova scored the final two points of the match.

Inside the Numbers:

Ilieva had 20 kills, nine digs, three aces and a .259 attack percentage.
Jakubowski tallied 21 assists and 12 digs.
Turner finished with 11 kills, only three attack errors and a .308 attack percentage.
Rachwal had seven kills, only one attack error and a team-best .545 attack percentage. She also had five blocks.
Sophomore Raygan Murray (Rocky River, Ohio) had a team-best 29 digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .180 attack percentage for the match, while Villanova attacked at .277.
The Pirates had 52 kills, while the Wildcats recorded 75.
The Hall finished with 70 digs, while Villanova tallied 75.
The Pirates had 11.0 team blocks, while Villanova had 9.0.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 3-5 overall on the season and 1-4 in the BIG EAST, while Villanova improves to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
The Pirates drop to 16-31 all-time against the Wildcats and has now dropped the last six matches in the series.
Seton Hall drops to 1-2 in five-set matches this season.
Jakubowski has now recorded a double-double in five of her first eight collegiate matches.
With 11 kills tonight, Turner surpassed the 300-kill milestone for her career. She now has 309.
Freshman Cagla Bengi (Bursa, Turkey) made her collegiate debut. She finished with 18 assists and seven digs.
Murray reached the 20 digs mark in a match for the second time this season and the fifth time of her career.
Ilieva now has two matches with at least 15 kills in her career.
Today was Amanda Rachwal's birthday.