The Volleyball team enters Big East play on a hot streak, having won five of their last six matches.
The Pirates will open up conference play with road games at Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
The Pirates come into this stretch after playing in the Seton Hall Invitational tournament.
The Pirates went 2-1 in the tournament with their lone loss coming in the finals to undefeated TCU (13-0).
Head coach Kris Zeiter said said that he learned that his team can compete against a top level team.
"We lost to an undefeated team," Zeiter said. "We can't be too disappointed."
In the other tournament matches the Pirates defeated NJIT, 3-0, and Boston College, 3-2.
Warren was named Big East Player of the Week, the first Pirate to earn this honor in program history, for averaging 6.93 digs per set for the Pirates at the Seton Hall invitational.
On the season, Warren is averaging a team high 5.89 digs per set, which is second in the Big East.
The Pirates won their game against Princeton on Tuesday. This improves their record to 8-6.
Senior OPP Meghan Matusiak is averaging a team high 3.60 kills per set and has a total of 162 kills, which also leads the team. She is sixth in the Big East in kills per set.
The Manthorpe Twins, Stacey and Shelby, are second and third respectively in total kills for the team, with 101 and 83.
Shelbey Manthorpe leads the team with 8.22 assists per set.
The Pirates will play Pittsburgh on Sept. 23. The Panthers come into the matchup 10-4.
Sophomore Panther Monica Wignot is fifth in the Big East with 3.74 kills per set. Wignot leads the conference in serving aces.
Freshman Lindsey Zitzke is third in the Big East in assists per set with 10.76.
The Panthers are 8-2 at home this season, while the Pirates are 1-2 on the road.
Last season, the Panthers defeated the Pirates in five sets.
The Pirates will then play West Virginia on Sept. 25. The Mountaineers come into their matchup with the Pirates 2-9. Both their wins have come at home.
The Pirates won their match against West Virginia last season 3-1.
West Virginia has the worst record in the Big East entering conference play.
After two conference matchups the Pirates will play the Fordham Rams on Sept. 28.
The Rams are 3-8 with a 1-3 home record. The Rams enter the game having lost five of their last six games.
The Pirates swept the Rams 3-0 last season.
According to Zeiter, the team scheduled the Fordham match in between their conference schedule to prepare for USF.
"There is no better practice than a game," Zeiter said. If they had not scheduled a match, the team would have a full week off in between games.
Zeiter said that every practice is made to prepare the team for conference play.
"The team is definitely ready for Big East competition," Zeiter said. "We expect to win the Big East."
T.J. Brennan can be reached at thomas.brennan@student.shu.edu
