Volleyball Carries Momentum Into Seton Hall Classic

MATCH 8
Dartmouth vs. NJIT (3-9)
Date: Friday, September 16, 2022 | 4:30 p.m.
Location: South Orange, N.J. | Walsh Gymnasium
All-Time Series: 2-1
Last Meeting: 9/11/11 – L, 3-2

Live Stats

MATCH 9
Dartmouth vs. Seton Hall (6-3)
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2022 | 12:30 p.m.
Location: South Orange, N.J. | Walsh Gymnasium
All-Time Series: 1-2
Last Meeting: 9/14/18 – W, 3-0

Watch (FloSports) | Live Stats

MATCH 10
Dartmouth vs. Central Connecticut State (5-3)
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2022 | 4:30 p.m.
Location: South Orange, N.J. | Walsh Gymnasium
All-Time Series: 12-3
Last Meeting: 9/18/21 – W, 3-2

Live Stats

THIS WEEKEND
Dartmouth brings its four-match win streak to South Orange, New Jersey to play in the Seton Hall Invitational. The Big Green battle NJIT on Friday before a busy Saturday, which features tilts with host Seton Hall and Central Connecticut State. Dartmouth defeated CCSU in five sets almost a year ago to the day.

RELIVE THE SUCCESSFUL DARTMOUTH INVITATIONAL
Dartmouth won four games in just two days between last Friday and Saturday, claiming the Dartmouth Invitational championship for the second consecutive season. The Big Green beat Siena and Lehigh in four sets Friday, and only needed three to take down Merrimack and Hartford on Saturday. The Big Green notched a season-best .403 hitting percentage in a particular dominant effort against Hartford. The win over Lehigh was likely the highlight of the weekend - the Mountain Hawks came into that one at 7-1 on the season, ranking among the nation's best in service aces. They were held well under their season average against a tough Dartmouth defense that ranks top-20 in the country in digs per set.

STUFFING THE STAT SHEET
Ellie Blain had one of the best weekends of her career during the Dartmouth Invitational. She led the team in total kills with 36 over the four matches and even posted a team-best 3.42 digs per set, along with a career-high 23 digs in a four-setter against Siena. Those types of numbers land you on the Dartmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team for a second straight year. She recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in her career after serving as the jack-of-all-trades in Dartmouth's first two matches of the tournament.

HITTING PERCENTAGE PROWESS
Amelia Gibbs and Ava Roberts sport two of the highest hitting percentages across the Ivy League. Gibbs ranks second at .375, while Roberts holds fourth on the list with a .333 mark. Kauany Gutz (.276) and Grace Wiczek (.272) also crack the top-10 at eighth and ninth respectively. Dartmouth's .234 team percentage is just five points behind Princeton for best in the conference. Gibbs recently registered an .818 hitting percentage, which marked the best in program history for a single match among attackers with 10-14 attempts. For all attackers with 10-plus attempts, it was the best since Danra Kazenski's .833 clip with 18 attacks and 16 kills against Quinnipiac in 1998.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
The Highlanders were 2-25 and winless in the America East a season ago, but appear rejuvenated as they've already surpassed 2021's win total this season with a pair of victories over Saint Peter's and one against Holy Cross. NJIT recorded a season-best .228 hitting percentage in the first Saint Peter's triumph, led by a 14-kill effort by Elley Torres.

SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Seton Hall was riding the four-match win streak until the Sacred Heart Invitational, where the Pirates fell to Stony Brook and Princeton. They opened that weekend with a three-set win over Sacred Heart, who Dartmouth bested in four sets in the season opener. Seton Hall was 14-18 overall with a 6-12 record in the Big East a season ago, but look primed to improve on that mark this season. The Pirates currently allow the fewest kills in the conference.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Dartmouth and CCSU played a five-set nail-biter Sept. 18, 2021. Blain and Makenzie Arent were instrumental in that win, good for 21 kills and 35 assists respectively. On the other side, the Blue Devils featured a 21-kill performance by Nyjah Marcelin. She's now a sophomore and ranks third in kills per set within the balanced CCSU offense. Isabella Bratzke leads with 2.72 kills per set. The Blue Devils rank 15th in the nation for aces per set at 2.24 with Rachel Picha leading that category at 0.68 per set.

WHAT'S AHEAD
Dartmouth opens Ivy League play Saturday, Sept. 24 at Harvard before returning to Leede Arena to host Princeton. After that? The nationally televised battle with Penn Sunday, Oct. 2 on ESPNU.

Schedules