Loiselle, Nelson Key Pirates Sweep of FDU, 3-0

Saturday, August 29

South Orange, N.J.

3:00 PM

Seton Hall University

2-0,0-0Big East

FDU

1-1,0-0NEC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
FDU	22	13	12	0
Seton Hall	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Nico Mincolelli

8/29/2026 5:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Maddy Loiselle (Tampa, Fla.) erupted for 14 kills and senior Rylee Nelson (Mazeppa, Minn.) added 20 digs as the Seton Hall volleyball team swept FDU, 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-12), on Saturday.

After a surprisingly close first set, the Pirates showed their dominance in sets two and three. The Hall committed just five attack errors in sets two and three combined and held the Knights to just 13 and 12 points respectively.

Loiselle had a dominant offensive performance in only her second match since returning from a debilitating knee injury. The senior had 14 kills, only one attack error, a .565 attack percentage and three blocks. Nelson had a match-high 20 digs in a tremendous defensive effort, to go with four assists.

Junior setter Gwen Adler (Barrington, Ill.) logged her seventh career double-double with 12 assists and 10 digs.

SET 1:
Seton Hall was largely out-played in the first set, attacking at just a .104 clip. FDU scored the first five points of the set and jumped out to an 11-3 advantage. The Pirates stormed back with a 13-3 run and a kill by Loiselle gave them a 16-14 lead. A kill by Daria Safian (Moscow, Russia) extended The Hall's lead to 23-18 and forced an FDU timeout, but out of the break, the Knights scored four straight points to cut their deficit to just one. Another kill by Safian put The Hall in set point, 24-22, and an ace by Emilee Fuller (Louisville, Ky.) gave the Pirates a 25-22 victory.

SET 2:
Seton Hall jumped out to a massive lead early in set two. A kill by Loukia Papadakos (Stoufville, Ontario) gave the Pirates a commanding 17-6 lead, and the Knights were never able to reduce their deficit to fewer than eight points the rest of the way. The Hall went on to roll to a 25-13 set-two victory after attacking at a .308 percentage, compared to just .030 for FDU. Nelson had a tremendous second set defensively, collecting 11 digs.

SET 3:
The Pirates led the third set wire-to-wire, jumping out to a commanding 9-0 lead and forcing an early FDU timeout. The Knights were able to cut their deficit to five points, 11-6, but The Hall took off again with an 8-2 run. Leading 21-12, Seton Hall scored the final four points of the match. Sophomore Kennedy Horn (Columbus, Ind.) closed out her collegiate debut impressively. A kill by Horn put The Hall up 22-12, and then three consecutive aces by Horn finished the match.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Loiselle finished with a match-high 14 kills, only one attack error, a .565 attack percentage, three blocks and two digs.
Nelson had a match-high 20 digs to go with four assists.
Adler had a double-double with 12 assists and 10 digs.
Fuller had a match-high 18 assists to go with four service aces and four digs.
Seton Hall recorded a .255 attack percentage for the match, while FDU attacked at .092.
The Pirates had 44 kills, while FDU had 21.
The Hall tallied 57 digs, while the Knights had 36.
Seton Hall collected 7.0 blocks and Fairleigh Dickinson had 7.5.

NEWS & NOTES:

Seton Hall is now a perfect 2-0 on the young season, while FDU falls to 1-1.
It's the first time The Hall has started the season with back-to-back sweeps since 2003.
The Pirates improve to 19-3 all-time against FDU and have now won 19 straight matches in the series.
Seton Hall had 14 service aces today, its most since collecting 16 vs. Dartmouth on Sept. 17, 2022.
Nelson reached 20 digs in a single-match for the ninth time in her career.
Horn made her collegiate debut and had two kills, three aces and a block.
Adler's double-double is the first of the season for any Pirate and the seventh of her career.

UP NEXT:
The Pirates will conclude play at its own Seton Hall Classic tomorrow when it faces local rival NJIT at 3:00 p.m. The match will be streamed live on YouTube.