The Pirates will return to the road this weekend when they play three matches at the Sacred Heart Invitational in Fairfield, Conn. The Hall will face host Sa...
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SACRED HEART INVITATIONAL
FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT - William H. Pitt Center
SETON HALL (5-1) vs. STONY BROOK (3-2) | | | | | |
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Date | Time | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter | Sunday,
Sept. 11 | 11:00 AM | None | None | LIVE STATS | @SHUVolley |
SETON HALL (5-1) vs. PRINCETON (2-1) | | | | | |
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Date | Time | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Twitter | Sunday,
Sept. 11 | 2:00 PM | None | None | LIVE STATS | @SHUVolley |
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PREVIEW
The Pirates will return to the road this weekend when they play three matches at the Sacred Heart Invitational in Fairfield, Conn. The Hall will face host Sacred Heart at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday, the Pirates will take on Stony Brook at 11:00 a.m., followed by Princeton at 2:00 p.m.
MEDIA
Seton Hall's match on Saturday against Sacred Heart will be streamed live via NEC Front Row. However, the other two matches this weekend will not have a video stream. All three matches will be available via live stats.
LAST WEEK
Seton Hall continued its impressive start to the 2022 season with three victories last weekend, claiming the title of the Seton Hall Invitational in Walsh Gym. On Friday, junior
Bianca Bucciarelli (Carate Brianza, Italy) recorded a season-high 12 kills to lift the Pirates to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-23) victory over George Mason. Bucciarelli had a match-high 12 kills, only three attack errors and an impressive .409 attack percentage. She also tallied four digs and two blocks.
Sophomore
Jenna Walsh (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) matched her career-high with 16 kills, and
Anna Holland (Waukesha, Wis.) had a season-high 26 digs as the Pirates outlasted Akron, 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 25-23, 25-22), early on Saturday. Walsh was brilliant saving seven of her 16 kills for the match-clinching fourth set. Holland finished with a season-best 26 digs to go with five assists. Junior
Laila Wallace (Munster, Ind.) continued to impress with extended playing time. The Radford transfer had a season-high nine kills, only one attack error, and a team-best six blocks.
In the finale, senior
Reagan Hopp (Carmel, Ind.) had a season-high 11 kills and
Taylor Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) tallied a double-double as the Pirates swept Iona to claim the Seton Hall Invitational title. Hopp narrowly missed a double-double with a match-high 11 kills to go with nine digs and a .391 attack percentage. Holland, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, also barely missed a double-double, finishing with a team-high 14 digs and nine assists. Jakubowski did record a double-double, the first of the season for any Pirate, finishing with 13 digs and 12 assists.
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
Seton Hall and Sacred heart are meeting for the sixth time in history with the Pirates having won all five prior meetings. Most recently, The Hall defeated the Pioneers in four sets during the COVID-shortened season of 2020 (played in spring of 2021) in Walsh Gym.
The Pioneers are coming off a successful 2021 season that saw a 19-10 final record and NEC Championship. Sacred heart lost only two sets in the NEC Tournament and defeated Bryant in four sets to claim the title. Their season came to an end with a three-set loss to Texas in the NCAA Tournament. Sarah Ciszek was named NEC Setter of the Year, while Olivia Fairchild and Reghan Palanchi joined her on All-NEC Teams.
This year, the Pioneers were unanimously picked to win the NEC again. They bring back the conference's best player in four-time NEC Setter of the Year Sarah Ciszek and five of its seven starters, including all-conference selections Reghan Palanchi, Dominique Felix and Emma Smallcomb.
Sacred Heart has opened the year with a 2-5 record, but hasn't yet had a home match. The Pioneers dropped two of three matches at the Carolina Classic to open the year, including a four-set setback at the University of South Carolina. Last weekend, Sacred Heart fell to Dartmouth and UC Irvine before sweeping Holy Cross on Saturday. Most recently, they fell in four sets to High Point University on Thursday.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
Seton Hall and Stony Brook are meeting for the ninth time in history with the Pirates having won seven of the prior eight meetings. The teams haven't met, however, in eight years with their most-recent match being a three-set sweep for Seton hall at the Stony Brook Invitational on Oct. 21, 2014.
Stony Brook is coming off a 13-14 season in 2021 and a first-round loss to UMBC in the America East Tournament. The Seawolves played one BIG EAST school last year, St. John's, and fell in four sets at home.
Now in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Seawolves were picked to finish eighth in the 11-team CAA according to the preseason coaches' poll. Stony Brook's Abby Campbell was an honorable mention to the preseason All-CAA Team.
Entering this weekend's tournament, Stony Brook is 3-2. The Seawolves opened the season with a pair of victories over Quinnipiac and Fordham, but struggled at home against quality competition last weekend. Stony Brook was swept by Maryland and lost in four sets to USF. The Seawolves outlasted BIG EAST foe Georgetown in the early match on Saturday.
SCOUTING PRINCETON
This will be the 14th meeting in history between Seton Hall and Princeton with the Tigers owning an 8-5 advantage in the series. The teams haven't met since a four-set Princeton victory in Walsh Gym on Sept. 11, 2018.
The Tigers are coming off a strong 2021 season which saw them finish with a 16-6 overall record and a 10-4 mark in Ivy League play. Brown won the Ivy League title, so Princeton didn't play in the postseason, but they finished the year strong, not losing a set in the final three matches of the year.
This season, Princeton was picked to finish second in the eight-team Ivy League preseason coaches' poll. The Tigers received two first-place votes, but finished well behind the presumptive champion Brown. Princeton returns Ivy League First Team selections Avery Luoma and Elena Montgomery, as well as Second Team pick Lindsey Kelly and Honorable Mention Cameron Dames.
Princeton opened the season last week with victories in two of three matches at the Towson Tournament. The Tigers swept Morgan State and Radford, but fell to host Towson in four sets. Luoma was named Ivy League Volleyball Player of the Week on Monday after averaging a league-best 4.10 kills per et.
UP NEXT
After the Sacred Heart Invitational, the Pirates will return home to host their second tournament of the season, the Seton Hall Classic. The Hall will invite Central Connecticut State, Dartmouth and NJIT to South Orange on Sept, 16-17.