Credit: Seton Hall University Athletics
Seton Hall Opens Season at Belmont/Lipscomb Invitational
Published: Sunday, August 31, 2025
by Darren Worrell
NASHVILLE, T.N. -- The Seton Hall Pirates (1-2) opened their season at the Belmont/Lipscomb Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee, earning one win throughout their three matches.
The Pirates got off to a strong start, sweeping UT Martin in their opener, but later
fell to Belmont in four sets. Then on Sunday, they fell to Lipscomb in four sets as
well.
Match versus UT Martin
It was clear from the start that the Pirates had all the firepower in their opening matchup against the Skyhawks. They dominated the opening set with a 25-14 win, where much of their momentum came from timely kills. Especially stemming from the combination of Maddison Loiselle and Senna Roberts-Navarro. Receiving and attacking errors by UT Martin gave the Pirates a substantial advantage in this one.
Loiselle led the way with 10 kills and an impressive 83.3 percent kill percentage, while Roberts- Navarro added 8 kills, 7 digs and 5 blocks.
But the impact was not just from them. With several players out, the Pirates leaned
on their freshman and transfers in this matchup, and they certainly stepped up when
called upon.
One standout return came from Rylee Nelson, one of the top liberos in the Big East
who missed most of the season last year with an injury. She looked sharp in her return
to the court finishing with 12 digs and a 100 % hitting percentage.
The Skyhawks pushed back in the second and third sets, especially when the Pirates
fell behind 14 to 1 in the third set. But the pirate’s defense was strong, producing
key blocks at the net. In addition, they were able to go on several runs to claw their
way back into the set. Towards the end, when UT Martin had the lead the Pirates went
on a 4-0 run to win the set and match.
Match versus Belmont
This next match against the Belmont Bruins was a tough one for the Pirates as they suffered their first loss of the season. Seton Hall started off strong, picking up where they left off, against UT Martin. They won the first set in dramatic fashion 25-18. Roberts Navarro got involved quickly in this match, scoring 4 of her 15 kills in the first set alone.
The second set was a series of runs, including sixteen ties along the way. Whenever
the other team had a two-point advantage, the other team would respond back in a big
way and tie.
Belmont was up 22-18 when the Pirates would go on a 4-0 run to tie the game even.
However, the Bruins would then go on a run of their own, scoring the next three points
to take the set.
Sets three and four were quite similar. In set three the Pirates found themselves
down big but managed to go on a run late to cut the deficit to just 21-19. However,
Belmont did not let up and would take the set 25-21.
In the fourth and final set, the Pirates were up big, but costly mistakes allowed
the Bruins to come from behind and get back in the set. The Pirates had set point
but a kill by Belmont’s Emily Warmenhoven would tie the game at 24. The Bruins would
go on to score the next two points and win the set and match.
Match versus Lipscomb
The final game of the invitational against the Lipscomb Bisons was hard fought on both sides, but the Pirates fell short in this one. In the first set, Lipscomb and Seton Hall traded points early, but the Pirates were able to pull away due to the key service aces and timely kills to lead 20-16.
The Bisons would attempt to make a push in the late stages of this set, but the Pirates
finished strong with back to back points from Alex Rasmussen and an attack error from
Lipscomb. The Pirates won this set 25-20.
The second set was a battle of runs. Lipscomb jumped out to an early lead, but the
Pirates came all the way back to tie the game at 22. However, the Bisons challenged
the game-tying play due to a Pirate player touching the ball at the net.
The call was overturned and that Pirate point would be taken away and given to Lipscomb.
This was the turning point in the set as Lipscomb would hang on to win this set 25-21.
Both teams traded kills and errors in a back and forth third set. There were twenty
errors from both teams in this set. Seton Hall led 22-17 at one point but Lipscomb
would come back and tie the set at 23. After several set points from both squads,
Lipscomb finished the set off with a key block from Sydney Strenger to win the set
28-26.
The fourth and final set was close, as the score was tied at 17. Then, the Bisons
went on a run and did not look back as Courtney Jones would record back to back kills
to seal the game and the victory for Lipscomb.
The Pirates will now turn their attention to September 5 when they return home to
the Historic Walsh Gymnasium where they will take on the Iona Gaels in the Seton Hall
Classic. Chris Heite and Sean Casey will be on the call for that match at 2:00 P.M.
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