Pirates Rally Past Jacksonville State in Four Sets

Friday, September 4

Harrah's Cherokee Center / Asheville, N.C.

4:00 PM

Seton Hall University

4-0,0-0Big East

Jacksonville State

1-3,0-0CUSA

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Seton Hall	25	24	25	25	3
Jacksonville St.	21	26	17	23	1

9/4/2026 6:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Four players had at least eight kills as the Seton Hall women's volleyball team defeated Jacksonville State, 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23), in the opening match of the Blue Ridge Classic on Friday.

Seton Hall rallied from 18-14 and 22-20 deficits in set four to pull out a dramatic 25-23 win and seal a four-set match victory. The Pirates are now 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2003.

Sophomore Daria Safian (Moscow, Russia) had a team-high 12 kills and a .450 attack percentage. Senior Maddy Loiselle (Tampa, Fla.) had 10 kills and a career-high six blocks. Sophomore Mia Clyburn (Fort Mill, S.C.) had a career-high nine kills, only one attack error, a .500 attack percentage, four blocks and three digs. Alondra Villanueva (Lima, Peru) finished with eight kills and nine digs.

Senior Rylee Nelson (Mazeppa, Minn.) had a team-high 12 digs. Gwen Adler (Barrington, Ill.) and Emilee Fuller (Louisville, Ky.) each had exactly 21 assists and four digs.

SET 1:
Seton Hall scored the first point of the match, but Jacksonville State scored the next eight points to race out to a sizable early lead in set one. Trailing 17-11, the Pirates went on a 9-2 run, and a kill by Loiselle gave them a 20-19 lead and sent the Gamecocks to a timeout. After Jacksonville State tied the score at 20, The Hall scored five of the last six points to complete the comeback. The Hall had a .355 attack percentage in the opening set.

SET 2:
The Pirates again got off to a slow start, but used a lengthy run to take the lead. Down 9-5, The Hall went on a 7-0 run, and a kill by Samantha Shelton (Oak Park, Ill.) put it on top, 12-9. Trailing 16-13, the Gamecocks scored four straight to reclaim the lead, 17-16. Another kill by Loiselle put The Hall back on top again, 20-18, but Jacksonville State rallied again with four straight points to go up, 22-20. Seton Hall staved off one set point, but ultimately succumbed, 26-24, in set two. After a sterling first set, the Pirates had an attack percentage of only .118 in the second.

SET 3:
The Pirates never trailed in set three. Leading 13-10 in the third set, The Hall scored five in a row, and a kill by Clyburn gave it a commanding 18-10 advantage. Alondra Villanueva (Lima, Peru) put Seton Hall in set point, 24-17, and a Gamecocks attack error put set three in the win column for The Hall. Seton Hall had an impressive .429 attack percentage in the third set.

SET 4:
Trailing 6-3 early in set four, Jacksonville State scored four points in a row to take the lead. With the score tied at 14, the Gamecocks scored four straight again to grab an 18-14 advantage. Trailing 21-16, The Hall went on a 6-1 burst to tie the score at 22 and force a Gamecocks timeout. Trailing 23-22, a kill by Villanueva tied the set. An ace by Villanueva put Seton Hall in match point, and a block by Shelton and Horn closed out a 25-23 set-four victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Safian had a team-high 12 kills, a .450 attack percentage and two blocks.
Clyburn tallied a career-high nine kills, only one attack error, a .500 attack percentage, four blocks and three digs.
Loiselle finished with 10 kills, only two attack errors and a career-high six blocks.
Villanueva notched eight kills, nine digs and two aces.
Nelson had a team-high 12 digs and two aces.
Adler and Fuller had a team-high 21 assists and four digs apiece.
Seton Hall recorded a .276 attack percentage for the match, while Jacksonville State attacked at .136.
The Pirates had 54 kills, while Jacksonville State had 47.
The Hall tallied 38 digs, while the Gamecocks had 44.
Seton Hall had 12.0 team blocks, while Jacksonville State had 10.0.

NEWS & NOTES:

Seton Hall is now a perfect 4-0 on the young season, while Jacksonville State falls to 1-3.
The Hall has opened the season 4-0 for the first time since 2003.
This was the first-ever match between Jacksonville State and Seton Hall.
This was Seton Hall's first four-set match of the season.
Seton Hall set season-highs in team kills (54), assists (50) and blocks (12.0) against Jacksonville State.

UP NEXT:
The Pirates will return to action tomorrow when it continues play at the Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. The Hall will face UNC Asheville at 4:00 p.m.