The Marist women’s volleyball dropped to a record of 3-5 on the season following a five set loss at home against the Seton Hall Pirates on Tuesday night. After losing the first two sets by a score of 25-14 and 25-15, the Red Foxes showed some life. A 25-21 victory in the third set and a 25-16 victory in the fourth sent the match to a fifth and final set. Marist took an early 3-2 lead, but Seton Hall prevailed in the end, winning the set 15-5.
Seton Hall took the first set in convincing fashion, winning by a score of 25-14. The Red Foxes kept it close in the early stretches, but the Pirates were able to pull away. Marist was outscored 16-9 on kills in the opening set.
Marist got off to a much better start in the second set, but were unable to take advantage of it. The Red Foxes began the set with a quality 9-4 run, for Seton Hall to answer back with a 21-6 run.“That level of effort in games one and two isn’t acceptable, especially when you’re playing at home,” head coach Sean Bryon said.
With the score at 22-20 in favor of Marist, McCann Arena began to grow quiet as one of best outside hitters for the Red Foxes laid on the floor in some discomfort. Sasha Van Der Merwe, a sophomore from Guelph, Canada, suffered an apparent ankle injury on the play.
“She just went up and tried to block her and unfortunately, she landed on the other girl’s foot,” senior McKinley Fox said. After the long injury timeout, the Red Foxes responded by winning three of the next four points to take the set 25-21.
Marist was excellent in the fourth, winning the set by a score of 25-16 and outscored Seton Hall 15-5 in kills during the set. “We really picked up our energy and didn’t allow theirs to bring us down,” Fox said.
With the match tied at two going to the fifth set, the momentum certainly seemed to be in favor ofMarist. The team held an early 3-2 lead before Seton Hall pulled away with a 13-2 run to finish out the match, handing a tough loss to Marist.
Outside hitter Jordan Newblatt had an excellent performance for the Red Foxes on Tuesday night. The sophomore from Clarkston, Michigan contributed a team-high 13 kills along with 18 digs. Setter McKinley Fox was fantastic as well, adding a team-high 41 assists along with 12 digs of her own.
Marist returns to play on September 11rd at 1 p.m., when they face the Bears of Morgan State University at the Recreation Athletic Complex in Fairfax, Virginia.
edited by Connor Kurpat
photo by Marist Athletics