Volleyball Opens Homestand Against Seton Hall, St. John's

Friday, October 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Seton Hall

Volleyball Opens Homestand Against Seton Hall, St. John's

10.04.17 | Volleyball

Watch Live Live Stats

The Musketeers play the first of three straight home matches on Friday vs Seton Hall

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier volleyball opens a three-match homestand on Friday, Oct. 6 against Seton Hall. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.

The Musketeers will also face St. John's on Saturday in BIG EAST action before closing its non-conference schedule against Dayton on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at Cintas Center.

THE MATCHUP VS SETON HALL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (7-11, 2-3) vs SETON HALL PIRATES (8-9, 2-2)
Match Info - Friday, Oct. 6 - 7 p.m. - Cintas Center
Live Stats - bit.ly/1UjZhTG
Live Video - bit.ly/2fsN8kE

ABOUT SETON HALL

2017 Record: 8-9 (2-2 BIG EAST)
2016 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 6-2

NOTABLES
• The Pirates have won two of their last three BIG EAST matches, most recently defeating Providence in three sets on Sept. 30. Seton Hall is 3-3 in road matches this season with a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST matches.
• Abby Thelen leads the team in kills (3.72 k/s), while ranking third in the conference. The middle blocker has added 125 digs and 27 blocks this season.
• Seton Hall ranks ninth in the conference in hitting percentage (.191) and opponent hitting percentage (.223).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Seton Hall, 6-2. The Musketeers are 2-1 in home matches versus the Pirates.

• Xavier hit .309 in the series last year and posted eight more blocks (21-13) than the Pirates. Alexis Newsome had 15 blocks in the series, while Lauren Frilling posted seven.

THE MATCHUP VS ST. JOHN'S

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (7-11, 2-3) vs ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (9-10, 1-3)
Match Info - Saturday, Oct. 7 - 6 p.m. - Cintas Center
Live Stats - bit.ly/1UjZhTG
Live Video - bit.ly/2fsN8kE

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S

2017 Record: 9-10 (1-3 BIG EAST)
2016 Postseason: No
Series History: Xavier leads, 9-0

NOTABLES
• St. John's ranks second in the BIG EAST in blocks (2.61 b/s). The Red Storm also rank ninth in kills (12.33 k/s) and eighth in digs (14.52 d/s).
• Hanna Wagner ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.385), while Julia Cast ranks second in kills (4.09 k/s). Danisha Moss also ranks second in blocks (1.33 b/s).
• The Red Storm are 1-4 in their last five matches. St. John's is also 1-4 in road contests with an 0-2 mark in BIG EAST road matches.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with St. John's, 9-0. The Musketeers won both meetings last season in four sets.

• Alexis Newsome posted 10 blocks in the series to go along with a .393 hitting percentage and 13 kills.

• Xavier also had five more aces (10-5) than the Red Storm in the series. Samantha Foti and Meredith Klare combined for five aces and 49 digs.

PROMOTIONS

Friday, Oct. 6 vs Seton Hall
FACULTY & STAFF APPRECIATION NIGHT - All Xavier faculty & staff members who present their AllCard at the ticket window receive 4 free tickets to the match.
POST-MATCH - Autographs from select players.

Saturday, Oct. 7 vs St. John's
DIG PINK
GIVEAWAY - Exclusive pink Xavier poster to first 250 fans.
POST-MATCH - Full team autographs.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier went 1-2 last week with its lone win against Georgetown on Sept. 30. Junior Morgan Finn led the Musketeers with 37 kills and a .337 hitting percentage.

• Freshman Maya Krause hit .328 and collected 24 kills and five blocks. Senior Lauren Frilling led the Musketeers with 13 blocks to go along with 15 kills and three aces.

BIG EAST HONORS

• Junior Meredith Klare was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Tuesday afternoon. The libero earned the honors for the first time this season.

• Klare led the BIG EAST in digs last week, averaging 5.36 digs per set. The Union, Ky., native added eight assists and one ace.

NOTABLES

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in digs (16.16 d/s), while ranking 62nd nationally. The Musketeers also rank third in blocks (2.36 b/s) in the conference, ranking 68th nationally in the statistical category.

• Meredith Klare ranks second in the conference in digs per set (4.47), while ranking 41st nationally in total digs (304).

• Alexis Newsome and Lauren Frilling both rank in the top-10 of the BIG EAST stats in blocks. Newsome ranks fourth (1.12 b/s), while Frilling ranks ninth (0.94 b/s). Newsome also ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.333).

• Senior Mackenzi Humm ranks 10th in school history in assists with 1,797. The setter has averaged 5.63 a/s this season.

• The Xavier volleyball program is three wins away from its 800th program victory. The Musketeers have posted a 797-606 record in 44 years of competition.

KLARE - XU RECORD BOOK

• Meredith Klare ranks eighth in school history in digs with 1,265. The junior libero is 11 digs shy of moving into seventh place.

MASSA - CAREER MILESTONE

• Senior Kristen Massa eclipsed the 1,000-career kill mark in the Musketeers' 3-1 win over Albany on Saturday, Sept. 16. She now has 1,017 kills over her career as the outside hitter has averaged 2.59 k/s during her career.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Senior Kristen Massa was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Massa, a 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team selection, ranked third on the team in kills (292) last season, while adding 47 blocks and 63 digs. The Cincinnati native had 10 or more kills in 16 matches.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as selected by conference head coaches. The Musketeers finished tied for second in the BIG EAST standings a year ago and advanced to the conference tournament championship match before being defeated by No. 21 Creighton.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier faces seven teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Seventeen of the Musketeers 23 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 23 opponents combined to post a 433-289 record last season with a .600 winning percentage. Xavier's opponents averaged 18.8 wins a year ago.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier has posted a 53-21 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all four seasons.

• The BIG EAST Tournament will be hosted by Marquette after being held at Butler in 2016.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier posted a 20-13 (13-5) record last season under head coach Christy Pfeffenberger. The 20-win campaign was the 21st in program history.

• The Musketeers overall record of 20-13 last year was the programs 19th consecutive season with a .500 or above record.

• Head coach Christy Pfeffenberger has posted a 45-36 overall record in two seasons with the Musketeers, including a 29-12 mark in BIG EAST play.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors nine times in the last 12 years. Abbey Bessler earned AVCA All-American honorable mention team honors last year.

UP NEXT

• The Musketeers continue BIG EAST play against St. John's on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m.