Bucciarelli, Pirates Stun St. John's in Four Sets - Seton Hall University Athletics
Junior Bianca Bucciarelli (Carate Brianza, Italy) and Taylor Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) collected double-doubles as the Seton Hall women's volleyba...
Bucciarelli, Pirates Stun St. John's in Four Sets
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Junior Bianca Bucciarelli (Carate Brianza, Italy) and Taylor Jakubowski (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) collected double-doubles as the Seton Hall women's volleyball team defeated St. John's, 3-1 (25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 26-24), on Wednesday.
The victory snaps a seven-match losing streak for the Pirates and puts them squarely back in the BIG EAST Tournament chase with a huge match against Butler in Walsh Gym on Saturday.
The Hall's defensive front line churned out a season-high 15.0 blocks in only four sets, led by freshman Asli Subasili (Tekirdag, Turkey), who had a team-high six blocks. St. John's had a strong defensive match too, collecting 13.0 team blocks.
Bucciarelli filled the box score asserting herself both offensively and defensively on Wednesday. She had a team-high 15 kills to go with 10 digs, five blocks and four service aces. Jakubowski finished with a team-high 24 assists to go with 13 digs for her team-leading ninth double-double of the year.
SET 1:
The opening set featured 10 ties and five lead changes. Neither team grabbed a lead greater than two points until Seton Hall's final point which gave them a 25-22 victory. Down 18-16, The Hall scored four of the next five points to take a 20-19 advantage. With the score tied at 22, The Hall scored the final three points of the set. A kill by Bucciarelli put Seton Hall in set point, 24-22, and an ace by Jenna Walsh (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) won the set.
SET 2:
Trailing 10-6 early in set two, the Pirates went on a 7-2 run, and a block by Bucciarelli gave them a 13-12 advantage. St. John's scored twice to temporarily put them back in front, but The Hall responded with a 7-1 run to race back ahead, 20-15. Down 21-16, the Red Storm went on a 7-2 burst of their own to tie the set at 23. A block by Subasili and Maddie Klungel (Napa, Calif.) put The Hall in set point, but St. John's was able to tie the set at 24. Back-to-back attack errors by the Red Storm ultimately gave Seton Hall a 26-24 victory.
SET 3:
Seton Hall never led in the third set despite having a .190 attack percentage, its best of the match. With the score tied at 12, The Red Storm scored five straight to take a 17-12 advantage and force a Pirates' timeout. The Hall responded with a 6-1 run, and a kill by Bucciarelli tied the set at 18. With the score locked at 19, St. John's scored five of the next six points to grab a 24-20 lead. The Hall staved off two set points, but fell, 25-22.
SET 4:
For the second straight set, The Hall found itself in a sizeable early deficit, 10-6. The Hall rallied, however, and an 8-2 run put it on top, 14-12. A kill by Perri Lucas (Chicago, Ill.) extended the Pirates' lead to 21-16, but St. John's rallied once again. A 7-2 burst by the Red Storm tied the set at 23. Another kill by Lucas put The Hall in match point, but St. John's was able to tie the score at 24. Lucas spiked home a point once again to give the Pirates a 25-24 lead, and this time, a block by Klungel sealed the victory for The Hall. Lucas had five of her nine kills in the fourth set alone.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Bucciarelli had a double-double with a team-high 15 kills to go with 10 digs, five blocks and four aces.
- Jakubowski had a double-double with a team-high 24 assists to go with 13 digs.
- Senior Jennifer Giron (Benicia, Calif.) had a career-high 18 digs.
- Subasili finished with a career-high eight kills to go with only two attack errors, a team-high six blocks and three aces.
- Lucas had nine kills, only two attack errors and two blocks.
- Klungel had 14 assists, four blocks and two kills.
- Seton Hall recorded a .133 attack percentage for the match, while St. John's attacked at .106.
- The Pirates had 48 kills, while the Red Storm recorded 50.
- The Hall tallied 65 digs, while St. John's had 75.
- Seton Hall had a season-high 15.0 team blocks, while St. John's recorded 13.0.
- Seton Hall improves to 14-11 overall and 5-8 in the BIG EAST, while St. John's drops to 16-10 overall and 7-6 in conference play.
- The Hall is now 19-20 all-time against St. John's.
- Seton Hall improves to 5-4 in four-set matches this season.
- The Pirates are now 12-1 this year when winning the first set.
- The Hall improves to 13-2 this season when having a higher attack percentage than its opponent.
- This is the 16th time in 25 matches this year that the Pirates have out-blocked their opponent. They're now 12-4 in those matches.
- With 18 digs tonight, Giron surpassed the 200-digs mark for her career.
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 5 when it hosts Butler in Walsh Gymnasium. Match time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The match will be streamed live by the Pirate Sports Network for FloSports subscribers
