Pirates Drop Finale to Villanova; Seniors Honored

Saturday, November 19

South Orange, N.J.

6:00 PM

Seton Hall University

15-15,6-12Big East

Villanova

10-20,6-12Big East

Villanova

Seton Hall

11/19/2022 8:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score BOX SCORE - VU (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Seniors Jennifer Giron (Benicia, Calif.), Reagan Hopp (Carmel, Ind.), Madeline Matheny (Wilmington, Del.) and Julia Wilkins (Mason, Ohio) were honored for their commitment to the program, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team fell in the season finale to Villanova, 3-0 (24-26, 13-25, 11-25), on Saturday.

The Pirates had a set point in the opener, but Villanova rallied to win 26-24, and The Hall simply ran out of gas for sets two and three. The Hall finishes the season with a .500 overall record and in seventh place in the BIG EAST after being picked to finish 11^th.

Junior Taylor Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) collected her team-leading 12^th double-double of the season with team-highs of 12 assists and 12 digs, while sophomore Jenna Walsh (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) led the offense with a team-high eight kills to go with nine digs.

SET 1:
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair featuring 11 ties and four lead changes. Trailing 11-7, Villanova went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-12 lead. Down 17-15, the Pirates scored four of the next five points, and a kill by Jakubowski gave them a 19-18 edge and forced a Villanova timeout. The Hall extended its lead to 22-19 before the Wildcats scored three straight to tie the set at 22. With the score tied at 23, a kill by Laila Wallace (Munster, Ind.) put The Hall in set point, 24-23. Villanova however, rallied, and scored the last three points in a row to steal set one, 26-24.

Jakubowski was everywhere, collecting nine assists and seven digs in the first set alone.

SET 2:
The second set, however, was a very different story. Villanova led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 9-3 early lead. A kill by Bianca Bucciarelli (Carate Brianza, Italy) cut The Hall's deficit to 13-9, but the Wildcats responded with a 7-2 run to take a commanding 20-11 advantage. A kill by Walsh brought The Hall to within 22-13, but Villanova won the final three points to claim the set, 25-13.

SET 3:
Villanova had a .409 attack percentage in the final set, and although the Pirates were close early, the Wildcats pulled away late. A Villanova attack error pulled The Hall to within three points, 12-9, but from there, the Wildcats closed out the set with a 13-2 run.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Jakubowski had team-highs of 12 assists and 12 digs.
Walsh tallied a team-high eight kills to go with nine digs.
Giron collected nine digs and four assists.
Wallace finished with six kills, only two attack errors and three blocks.
Seton Hall recorded a .113 attack percentage for the match, while Villanova attacked at .294.
The Pirates had 28 kills, while the Wildcats recorded 42.
The Hall tallied 42 digs, while Villanova had 53.
Seton Hall had 5.0 team blocks, while Villanova recorded 4.0.

NEWS & NOTES:

Seton Hall finishes with a 15-15 final record overall and 6-12 mark in the BIG EAST, while Villanova improves to 10-20 overall and 6-12 in conference play.
The Hall is now 19-32 all-time against Villanova and has now won three of the last four matches in the series.
The Hall is now 18-33 all-time against Villanova.
Seton Hall is now 6-9 in three-set matches this season.
Jakubowski's double-double is her team-leading 12^th of the season and the 35^th of her career.
In a post-match ceremony tonight, the Pirates honored four seniors for their contributions to the program, Jennifer Giron, Reagan Hopp, Madeline Matheny and Julia Wilkins.