Pirates Fall as Middle Tennessee Rallies in Five Sets

Friday, September 17

Jacksonville, Fla. / UNF Arena

4:30 PM

Seton Hall University

7-5,0-0Big East

Middle Tennessee

-23,00 CUSA

Middle Tenn.

Seton Hall

Pirates Fall as Middle Tennessee Rallies in Five Sets

9/17/2021 7:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Perri Lucas collects a team-high 15 kills, while Amanda Rachwal had nine kills and eight blocks.

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – Sophomore Perri Lucas (Chicago, Ill.) had a team-high 15 kills, and Amanda Rachwal (Bethlehem, Pa.) had nine kills and eight blocks, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team fell in five sets to Middle Tennessee, 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 13-25, 11-15), on Friday.

The Pirates won the first two sets, but couldn't find the clincher as they fell for the first time since 2019 after claiming the first two sets.

Lucas finished with 15 kills and a career-high seven blocks. Rachwal had nine kills, only three attack errors, eight blocks and a service ace. Senior Madison Frusha (Huntsville, Texas) matched her career-high with a team-best nine blocks.

Sophomore Taylor Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) notched a double-double with a team-best 21 assists and 11 digs, while freshman Anna Holland (Waukesha, Wis.) totaled a team-best 17 digs.

SET 1:
Seton Hall opened the match clicking on all cylinders offensively and racing out to an 8-3 lead. A service ace by Rachwal extended The Hall's advantage to 12-5 before Middle Tennessee began to rally. The Blue Raiders scored four straight to cut their deficit to 12-9. The Pirates responded with five straight points, and blocks by Lucas and Frusha, gave them a commanding 19-10 lead. A kill by Tsvetelina Ilieva (Sofia, Bulgaria) put The Hall in set point, 24-13. Middle Tennessee rallied with three straight points, but a Blue Raider service error gave The Hall a 25-16 first set victory.

SET 2:
Trailing 8-7, The Pirates went on a 7-1 run, and a kill by Lucas gave them a 14-9 advantage and forced a Middle Tennessee timeout. Out of the break, The Hall extended its run to 9-1 and its lead to seven points. The Blue Raiders, however, went on an 8-1 run to tie the set at 17. From there, the set was tied five more times until The Hall broke through late. With the score tied at 22, kills by Ilieva and Jenna Walsh (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) put the Pirates in set point. On the next rally, a block by Lucas and Frusha gave the Pirates a two-set match lead with a 25-22 set two win.

SET 3:
Middle Tennessee scored seven of the first nine points to assume control early in set three. A kill by Rachwal cut The Hall's deficit to 8-7, but the Blue Raiders responded with five of the next six points to take a 13-8 lead and prompt a Seton Hall timeout. Out of the break, it was the Pirates to score five of the next six points, which sent Middle Tennessee into a timeout. Down 15-13, Seton Hall blocked three straight Blue Raider attacks to take a 16-15 lead, its first of the set. The score tied seven more times until Middle Tennessee scored the last two points after the set was tied at 23.

SET 4:
Seemingly emboldened by their set three victory, Middle Tennessee opened the four set by scoring nine of the first 10 points. A kill by Rachwal cut The Hall's deficit to 14-8, but the Blue Raiders went on a 6-1 run to grab a commanding 20-9 advantage, and cruised to a 25-13 fourth set win. The Pirates had a .000 attack percentage in the fourth set, compared to a match-high .455 by Middle Tennessee.

SET 5:
Middle Tennessee opened the final set with four of the first five points and sent the Pirates to an early timeout. Down 6-3, The Hall scored three straight, which included kills by Lucas and Reagan Hopp (Carmel, Ind.), to tie the set. A kill by Rachwal gave the Pirates an 11-10 edge, but it was the final point scored in the match by the Pirates as the Blue Raiders scored the final five.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Lucas had a team-high 15 kills to go with a career-high seven blocks.
Rachwal had nine kills and matched her career-high with eight blocks.
Frusha had four kills and matched her career-high with nine blocks.
Jakubowski had a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs.
Holland had a team-best 17 digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .135 attack percentage for the match, while Middle Tennessee attacked at .168.
The Pirates had 50 kills, while the Blue Raiders recorded 56.
Seton Hall finished with 61 digs, while Middle Tennessee had 71.
The Pirates had 17.0 total blocks, while Middle Tennessee had 9.0.

NEWS & NOTES:

Seton Hall drops to 7-5 on the season, while Middle Tennessee improves to 2-3.
The Pirates are now 0-2 at the UNF Sunshine Invitational entering tomorrow's finale against host North Florida.
Seton Hall drops to 1-2 all-time against Middle Tennessee.
Seton Hall falls to 1-1 this season in five-set matches.
Jakubowski's double-double is her second straight, the sixth of the season and the 13^th of her career.
Lucas has now reached double-figures in kills in 10 of 12 matches so far this year.
With 21 assists today, Jakubowski surpassed the 500-assist milestone for her career.
Lucas totaled 15 kills for the first time this season and the fourth time of her career.
Seton Hall's 17.0 team blocks tonight are a season-high.