Klungel Erupts, but Xavier Edges Pirates, 3-2 - Seton Hall University Athletics
Senior Maddie Klungel (Napa, Calif.) missed a triple-double by only one kill in a career-best effort, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team was edged by...
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Maddie Klungel (Napa, Calif.) missed a triple-double by only one kill in a career-best effort, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team was edged by Xavier, 3-2 (25-14, 20-25, 20-25, 25-20, 10-15), in Walsh Gym on Friday.
Klungel had 48 assists, a career-high 19 digs and nine kills, finishing one kill shy of Seton Hall's first triple-double since the 2014 season.
The Hall trounced Xavier, 25-14, in the opening set, but fell in sets two and three. The Pirates rallied for a fourth-set victory, but was outlasted in set five. Seton Hall lost despite collecting more kills, digs, blocks and having a higher attack percentage for the match.
Graduate student Perri Lucas (Chicago, Ill.) had a team-high 16 kills to go with five digs and three blocks. Senior Laila Wallace (Munster, Ind.) had her best performance of the season, finishing with season-highs of 12 kills and a team-best six blocks.
SET 1:
The Hall came out of the gate fast and put up a .333 attack percentage in the opening set. Leading 10-8, the Pirates scored six of the next seven points, and a block by Klungel and Wallace gave them a 16-9 advantage. A kill by Reagan Merk (Huntington Beach, Calif.) gave The Hall a commanding 22-13 lead and it rolled to a 25-14 victory. Faith LaMacchia (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) had six of her eight digs in the opening set to fuel the defense.
SET 2:
A kill by Maddy Loiselle (Tampa, Fla.) gave The Hall a 12-9 lead in set two, but Xavier responded with five straight points and forced a timeout. The Hall never found the equalizer. Trailing 20-15, the Pirates went on a 5-1 burst, and another kill by Loiselle cut their deficit to 21-20. The Musketeers, however, bounced back by closing out the set with five straight points.
SET 3:
The Musketeers led the third set wire-to-wire. Xavier started by scoring the first seven points and forcing an early Pirates' timeout. The Hall regrouped, and a kill by Wallace cut its deficit to 12-9. Xavier answered with a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 18-9. A kill by Loiselle cut Seton Hall's deficit to 19-15, but the Pirates couldn't get closer, and ultimately fell, 25-20.
SET 4:
Seton Hall held Xavier to only a .081 attack percentage in set four, a match low. Leading 10-9, The Hall scored five of the next six points, and a kill by Klungel put it on top, 15-10. The Musketeers cut their deficit to 22-19 late, but the Pirates scored three of the final four points to tie the match. A block by Lucas and Wallace put The Hall in set point, and a kill by Lucas was the set winner. Klungel had 11 assists, seven digs and four kills in the fourth set alone.
SET 5:
Trailing 3-2, Xavier went on a 9-1 run to take a commanding 11-4 advantage in the final set. The Hall scored four of the next five points to cut their deficit to 12-8 and forced a Xavier timeout, but the Musketeers regrouped out of the break and found the final three points.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Klungel was just one kill shy of a double-double, finishing with 48 assists, a career-high 19 digs, nine kills and two blocks.
- Lucas had a team-high 16 kills to go with five digs and three blocks.
- Wallace finished with season-highs of 12 kills and six blocks.
- Loiselle had 11 kills, five digs and two blocks.
- Seton Hall recorded a .225 attack percentage for the match, while Xavier attacked at .217.
- The Pirates had 67 kills, while Xavier had 60.
- The Hall recorded 78 digs, while the Musketeers had 72.
- Seton Hall collected 10.0 blocks and Xavier had 9.0.
- The Hall falls to 7-9 overall on the season and 1-4 in the BIG EAST, while Xavier improves to 5-10 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
- Seton Hall is now 4-17 all-time against the Musketeers.
- Klungel topped 30 assists in a single-match today for the sixth match in a row and the 10th time in her career.
- It's the first time this season that Seton Hall has lost despite having a higher attack percentage for the match.
- Klungel's double-double is her fifth of the season and the 11th of her career.
- Lucas reached at least 15 kills in a single-match for the third time this season and the 12th time in her career.
- The Hall falls to 1-1 this season in five-set matches.
- The Pirates had season-highs tonight in kills (67) and assists (61).
- Seton Hall had at least 10.0 blocks in a single-match for the fifth time this season.
The Pirates will return to action on Sunday, Oct. 13 when they host BIG EAST rival DePaul on Kids Day. The match is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
