Pirates Open BIG EAST Play with Sweep of Friars

Friday, September 22

South Orange, N.J.

6:00 PM

Seton Hall University

7-5,1-0Big East

Providence

6-7,0-1Big East

Providence

Seton Hall

9/22/2023 9:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score BOX SCORE - PC (.pdf)

Seton Hall opens BIG EAST play with a victory for the second year in a row.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Four Pirates collected at least eight kills and the Seton Hall women's volleyball team swept Providence, 3-0 (25-12, 27-25, 25-17), in a convincing start to BIG EAST play in Walsh Gymnasium on Friday.

The Pirates had a .298 attack percentage, their second-highest mark of the season, and dominated the Friars before a raucous home crowd.

Junior Hanna Tulli (Collegeville, Pa.) had the most-impressive offensive night, finishing with eight kills, no attack errors and a team-best .615 attack percentage. She also had three blocks.

Senior Perri Lucas (Chicago, Ill.) had nine kills, only two attack errors, and a .538 attack percentage. Madeline Matheny (Wilmington, Del.) also had nine kills to go with five digs. Bianca Bucciarelli (Carate Brianza, Italy) had eight kills and six digs.

SET 1:
Leading 5-4, The Hall went on a 9-2 run, and a kill by Maddie Klungel (Napa, Calif.) gave it a 14-6 advantage. The Pirates never looked back and extended their lead to as many as 13 points before routing the Friars, 25-12, in the opening set. The Hall had a .370 attack percentage in the dominant opening frame and held Providence to just -.037.

SET 2:
Seton Hall got out to another fast start in set two and a PC attack error gave the Pirates a 16-10 lead. Providence, however, chipped away and eventually pulled even at 23. A kill by Bucciarelli staved off a Providence set point to tie the set at 24, and a PC attack error did the same to tie the set at 25. In fact, the Friars closed the set with three straight attack errors, handing the second frame to The Hall, 27-25.

SET 3:
Providence led 7-6 in set three, but The Hall scored six straight and never looked back. Leading 13-10, the Pirates went on a 7-2 run, and a kill by Lucas gave them a commanding 20-12 advantage. PC cut its deficit to 23-17, but a kill by Matheny put The Hall in match point, and a kill by Tulli put the match in the win column for Seton Hall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Tulli had a season-high eight kills, no attack errors, a team-high .615 attack percentage and three blocks.
Lucas had nine kills, only two attack errors and a .538 attack percentage.
Matheny had nine kills, only three attack errors and five digs.
Bucciarelli had eight kills, six digs and three aces.
Klungel had a season-high 34 assists to go with five blocks, five kills and three digs.
Anna Holland (Waukesha, Wis.) had a match-high 12 digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .298 attack percentage for the match, while Providence attacked at .098.
The Pirates had 43 kills, while PC had 33.
The Hall recorded 37 digs, while the Friars had 29.
Seton Hall collected 6.0 blocks and Providence had 11.0.

NEWS & NOTES:

Seton Hall improves to 7-5 on the season, while Providence drops to 6-7.
The Hall is now 22-18 all-time against the Friars.
The Pirates have now won two straight BIG EAST openers after having lost the prior six straight.
The Pirates improve to 6-1 in three-set matches this season.
Seton Hall improves to a perfect 7-0 this season when winning the first set.
The Pirates are now 7-0 this season when having a higher attack percentage and more digs than their opponent.
The Hall remains undefeated at historic Walsh Gymnasium this year, improving to 4-0.
With five digs tonight, Matheny surpassed the 400-mark for her career.

UP NEXT:
The Pirates will return to action tomorrow when they host BIG EAST foe Connecticut in historic Walsh Gymnasium. Match time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. The contest will be streamed live by the Pirate Sports Network and available to FloSports subscribers.