The Seton Hall women's volleyball team continued their season at the Maryland Invitational this weekend, beating St. Peters, but losing to Princeton and Maryland. The Pirates’ record is now 6-3, with one more invitational before conference play begins.
The opening match of the invitational, played on Friday night, saw the Pirates fall to the host Terrapins 3-0 (21-25, 18-25, 10-25). Despite the loss, junior Alondra Villanueva and senior Rylee Nelson had standout performances. Villanueva led the team with six kills and nine digs, while Nelson added nine digs and five assists as well.
SHU kept the first two sets close, but struggled in the third set. The opening set was tight, with the Pirates even cutting the deficit to 21-19 after a block from junior Daria Safian, but Maryland ultimately rallied for three straight points to end the set. The second set followed a similar story, with the Pirates closing the gap to 20-17 but falling short again.
SHU kept pace with Maryland with blocks, but struggled to match the Terrapins’ hitting percentage. The Pirates' attack percentage was only .112 in the match, while Maryland's was .298.
In the invitational’s second match, played on Saturday, the Pirates faced off against the Princeton Tigers, losing in five sets (25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 25-27, 10-15).
Set one of the match was taken by SHU after a strong opening set from Villanueva, who led the way with four kills, and sophomore Emilee Fuller, who led the set with seven assists.
Both teams traded close sets, with neither team winning a middle set by more than four points. The Pirates went up 2-1, but were unable to close the game in the fourth set, leading to a 10-15 loss in the decisive fifth set.
Despite the loss, Safian contributed a team-high 17 kills, while junior Gwen Adler added a team-high 33 assists and 22 digs, good for a double-double. Fuller added a season-high 23 assists.
In the final match, also played on Saturday, the Pirates beat the St. Peters Peacocks in four sets, 3-1. SHU quickly jumped out to a 2-1 lead and didn't look back, dominating the fourth and final set. Through the first three sets, the Pirates struggled with their hitting percentage but made up for it with strong service games and blocks.
Leading the way for the Pirates in the final game of the tournament was senior Maddy Loiselle with 17 kills. Fuller and Adler also added onto an impressive day, combining for 40 assists in the second game of the afternoon. The Pirates dominated in the kills category, outpacing the Peacocks 54-40.
After the tournament, SHU's record stands at 6-3. Up next for the Pirates is a trip down South Orange Avenue to face NJIT, Iona and New Haven in the NJIT Classic next week.
Sean Casey is a writer for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at sean.casey@student.shu.edu.
