Pirates Open Season at UCI Invitational This Weekend - Seton Hall University Athletics
Seton Hall officially opens the 2023 regular season this weekend at the UCI Invitational. The Pirates will open the new campaign against New Mexico (1:00 p....
The Hall will face New Mexico, San Francisco and UC Irvine starting Friday in California.
UCI INVITATIONAL
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – Bren Events Center
| SHU (0-0) vs. NEW MEXICO (0-0) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | |
| Fri., Aug. 25 | 1:00 PM ET | None | None | LIVE STATS | @SHUVolley |
| SHU (0-0) vs. SAN FRANCISCO (0-0) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | |
| Fri., Aug. 25 | 6:00 PM ET | None | None | LIVE STATS | @SHUVolley |
| SETON HALL (0-0) at UC IRVINE (0-0) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | |
| Sat., Aug. 26 | 8:00 PM ET | 
| None | LIVE STATS | @SHUVolley |
Seton Hall officially opens the 2023 regular season this weekend at the UCI Invitational. The Pirates will open the new campaign against New Mexico (1:00 p.m. ET) and San Francisco (6:00 p.m.) on Friday, Aug. 25. The Hall will conclude the event with a match against host UC Irvine on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
MEDIA
Because Friday's matches against New Mexico and San Francisco are neutral site contests, they will not be video streamed. However, Saturday's match against UC Irvine will be streamed live on ESPN+. All three matches will have Live Stats available.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO
Seton Hall and New Mexico will meet for the first time on Friday.
The Lobos are coming off a 17-12 season in 2022, which included an 8-10 mark in the Mountain West Conference. Their season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to Utah State in the MWC Tournament first round. The last two seasons have been the winningest campaigns of Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar's four-year tenure in Albuquerque. The Lobos have posted a 62.7% win percentage over that span, with 20 wins in 2021 marking the most for the program since 2013.
This season, New Mexico was picked to finish tied for fourth in the 11-team MWC according to the 2023 Preseason Coaches Poll. UNM's nine returners combined for 70% of the Lobos' points last season, with 2022 All-MWC Outside Hitter Kaitlyn Biassou along with fellow 2022 starters Uxue Guereca (338 kills, 393.5 points) and Kali Wolf (228 kills, 276 points) highlighting the Lobos' experience on the outside.
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO
The Pirates will also face the University of San Francisco for the first time in program history on Friday.
The Dons are coming off a 14-15 record in 2022 which included a 7-11 mark in West Coast Conference play. San Francisco dropped five of their final six matches and didn't qualify for the WCC tournament.
USF returns 10 student-athletes from its 2022 team, including 2022 WCC Honorable Mention and All-Freshman honoree Abby Wadas, who led the Dons while finishing third in the conference with 414 total digs last season. Notably, Maria Petkova, who finished second on the team with 317.0 total points and 270 total kills, and Aylen Ayub, who led USF with 656 total assists, will also be returning to the Hilltop.
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
Seton Hall and UC Irvine have played only one other time in history, and it was more than 30 years ago. The Anteaters swept The Hall on Sept. 28, 1992 the last time the Pirates were at the UCI Invitational.
UCI is coming off a stellar 2022 season with a final record of 20-10 including a 13-7 mark in Big West Conference play. The Anteaters closed the season with four straight victories and their 20 wins total are the fourth-most in program history, while the 13 conference wins are a school record.
With the loss of a majority of the scoring, the 2023 Anteater offense will be focused on outside hitters Marianna Bertolone and Kendra MacDonald, who will become the anchors of the offense. UCI returns Big West All-Freshman team honoree Campbell Jensen and adds transfers Lexi Gruszczynski and Becca Sakoda to the back line.
UP NEXT
After the UCI Invitational, the Pirates will make their 2023 Walsh Gym debut when they host the Seton Hall Classic, Aug. 31-Sept. 2. The Hall will host NJIT on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 5:00 p.m. The Pirates will face George Mason on Friday, Sept. 1 at 5:00 p.m., and wrap up the weekend against Saint Peter's on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 3:00 p.m.
