The Hall Opens BIG EAST Play This Weekend

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 at 7:00 PM
SETON HALL (6-5) vs. ST. JOHN'S (11-3)
QUEENS, N.Y. - CARNESECCA ARENA
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2024 at 5:00 PM
SETON HALL (6-5) vs. VILLANOVA (7-4)
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - WALSH GYMNASIUM
LIVE VIDEO: PSN on FloSports
LIVE AUDIO: WSOU FM or wsou.net
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WEEKLY STATS REPORT: SETON HALL
2024 BIG EAST STANDINGS
2024 BIG EAST STATISTICAL LEADERS

PREVIEW
Seton Hall will open the BIG EAST Conference portion of its schedule this week with a pair of matches. On Friday, September 27, The Hall will make the short trip to Queens, N.Y. to face local rival St. John's at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, September 28, the Pirates will return to Walsh Gymnasium to host Villanova. That one begins at 5:00 p.m.

MEDIA
Friday's match at St. John's will be available on ESPN+. Saturday's contest against Villanova will be streamed by the Pirate Sports Network and available for FloSports subscribers. WSOU FM will broadcast Saturday's game at 89.5 FM or wsou.net. Both games will have live stats available at SHUpirates.com.

PROMOTION
Saturday's contest at Walsh Gymnasium is PANCAKE NIGHT!! Students can enjoy a favorite breakfast treat while watching the Pirates collect "pancake" digs. It's also Residence Life Challenge night where students will have an opportunity to enter a raffle to win free men's basketball season tickets!

HALL NOTES

Seton Hall currently leads the BIG EAST with 16.55 digs per set, while sophomore Rylee Nelson leads all individuals with 4.62 per set.
The Pirates have four players that rank in the BIG EAST top-10 in service aces per set, Asli Subasili (third), Reagan Merk (seventh), Jenna Walsh (eighth) and Maddie Klungel (10^th).
The Hall closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 6-5 record.
Reagan Merk has collected a double-double in the last four matches and has a team-best five this season.
Seton Hall's last six matches have all been four-set affairs (4-2).
Head coach Shannon Thompson is looking for her third straight victory in a BIG EAST opener. The Pirates had lost six BIG EAST openers in a row before Thompson arrived.
Perri Lucas is approaching the 1,000 kills milestone for her career. She enters the weekend with 964 career kills.

SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S
Seton Hall and St. John's will renew their long rivalry when both teams open BIG EAST play on Friday. The Red Storm hold a slim, 21-20, lead in the all-time series, but the Pirates have won three of the last five meetings. Last season, the teams split the home-and-home season series with each team winning at home.

The Red Storm are coming off a strong 2023 campaign that featured a 24-11 final record and included a 13-5 mark in BIG EAST Conference play. St. John's made a run to the BIG EAST Tournament championship game after upsetting No. 2 seeded Marquette, but was swept in the final by top-seeded Creighton. The Red Storm accepted an invitation to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) and defeated Howard in the opening round before ending their season with a five-set loss to USF.

This season, St. John's was picked to finish third in the 11-team BIG EAST according to the preseason coaches' poll. Seton Hall was selected seventh. Erin Jones and Lucrezia Lodi, both All-BIG EAST performers in 2023, were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

St. John's has gotten off to another strong start to begin the year and enter the weekend with an 11-3 overall record. The Red Storm is also a perfect 8-0 at Carnesecca Arena so far this season. They enter BIG EAST play with a four-match win streak. Seton Hall and St. John's have already had four common opponents this year with the Red Storm also defeating Coppin State in four sets and sweeping NJIT. They swept LIU, while The Hall won in four sets. Unlike the Pirates, St. John's edged Bryant in five sets, while Seton Hall was swept by the Bulldogs.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
Seton Hall will welcome its first BIG EAST opponent to Walsh Gym when it hosts Villanova on Saturday. The Wildcats have largely dominated the all-time series, owning a 34-18, series lead. The teams only met once last season and it was a four-set loss for the Pirates in Pennsylvania. The Hall's last win in the series came on the road in 2022.

Villanova is coming off a 17-14 season in 2023, which included an 8-10 mark in BIG EAST play. The Wildcats finished in a tie for the final BIG EAST Tournament spot with the Pirates, but earned the tie-breaker by virtue of their head-to-head victory. Villanova's season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to St. John's in the first round.

This season, the Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in the 11-team BIG EAST according to the preseason coaches' poll, just one position behind the Pirates. Reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Abby Harrell was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 7-4 record, but will host Georgetown the night before visiting Seton Hall. Villanova has won four in a row, including sweeps of Rhode Island and Temple at the Wildcat Challenge last weekend. Harrell currently leads the team with 3.26 kills per set, while Campbell McKinnon has a .409 attack percentage, which ranks second-highest in the BIG EAST.

UP NEXT
Next week, The Hall will continue BIG EAST Conference play with a pair of contests on the road. The Pirates will take on Providence on Friday, Oct. 4 at 5:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall. On Saturday, Oct. 5, Seton Hall will head to Storrs, Conn. to face the Huskies at 4:00 p.m.