The Seton Hall women’s volleyball team (8-7) fell to the Xavier Musketeers (9-5) on Saturday in a thrilling 4-set matchup.
The match was a nail-biter from start to finish, opening with a long rally that included saves from Samantha Shelton and Alexis Opland, allowing the Pirates to claim the first point. Seton Hall played aggressively from the opening serve, with its defense remaining consistent throughout the game.
The Pirates fell behind 3-6, but remained in contention following a swing by Mia Clyburn and an ace from Alondra Villanueva, cutting Xavier’s lead to 5-6. Rylee Nelson managed to keep the ball controlled on a critical late-game play, keeping the Pirates alive at 17-19.
Xavier then pulled away, taking the first set, 25-18.
At the start of the second set, the Pirates flipped the tables on the Musketeers. On Xavier’s opening serve, a smooth kill from Daria Safian claimed the Pirates the first point of the set once again. Clyburn followed with a strong hit out of the grasp of the Musketeers defense, giving SHU a 2-1 lead.
The teams remained close throughout the set. Kennedy Cummins made a diving save, bringing the Pirates to 13 points, just shy of Xavier’s 15. After a SHU timeout, Shelton served an ace to tie the set at 24. The Pirates scored the next two points to claim the second set, 26-24.
The third set began with a serve from Opland that gave the Pirates the first point, but a call discrepancy resulted in a replay and Xavier taking the opening point. Gwen Adler and Safian contributed key plays during the set. Adler had a clean backset that disoriented the Musketeers and gave the Pirates their fifth point of the set. Xavier began to break away, reaching a 17-10 lead. Following a timeout, Safian helped get us back on track with another spectacular hit. Adler added a save followed by a hit from Villanueva, but Xavier held on to win the third set, 25-15.
The fourth set was intense, as the Pirates tied the game early on at 5-5 and kept Xavier on their toes. Cummins made another save that set up Adler for a kill, giving the Pirates a 6-5 lead.
Xavier later took a 14-11 advantage, but SHU responded to tie it 15-15 after a block from Shelton. The Pirates continued to match Xavier and tied the set again at 19-19.
SHU pushed ahead 21-19 after a few Xavier errors, but the Musketeers were relentless and matched SHU at 22. Xavier eventually reached match point at 23-24 and closed out the fourth set with 25-23.
With the loss, SHU fell to 8-8 overall and 0-4 in BIG EAST play.
William Smith is a writer for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at william.smith2@student.shu.edu
