George Washington University Athletics
GW Volleyball to Compete at Seton Hall Classic This Weekend
9/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
| Seton Hall Classic - South Orange, New Jersey | |
| Date | September 2-3 |
| Location | Walsh Gymnasium | South Orange, N.J. |
| GW at Seton Hall Friday, 7:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch Live |
| GW vs. Towson Saturday, 12:00 p.m. | Live Stats |
| GW vs. Canisius Saturday, 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats |
| Additional Information | 2016 Season Outlook Get To Know: GW Volleyball's Five Freshmen 2016 Quick Facts & Prospectus2016 Schedule |
LEADING OFF: The George Washington volleyball team continues its non-conference tournament schedule at this weekend's Seton Hall Classic at Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, New Jersey. The Colonials will clash with the host Pirates on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. before a Saturday doubleheader against Towson (12 p.m.) and Canisius (5:30 p.m.).
The Colonials rebounded for a come-from-behind, five-set victory over Buffalo in the weekend finale for the first win of the 2016 campaign.
COACH AULT'S TAKE: "We went into last weekend with our goal of wanting to learn about ourselves and what we needed to work on. We definitley found out a few things and we spent a lot of time this week working on our defense and serve and pass game. I feel confident that this team is learning and ready to take the next step this weekend."
INTO THE FIRE: All five of GW's freshmen saw action in the opening weekend. The standout performance came from rookie outside hitter Skylar Iott, who totaled double-digit kills in all three matches. For the weekend she hit .276 with 37 kills (3.36/set) and added 10 digs and three blocks (one solo, two assists).
BEST BLOCKER: Senior Chidima Osuchukwu, who led the Atlantic 10 and ranked in the top 10 nationally for both total blocks and blocks per set as a junior, picked up right where she left off to open her final season in the Buff & Blue.
Osuchukwu posted the most blocks in the conference in the opening weekend of competition with 15.0 total rejections. She registered three solo blocks and 12 assists to dominate the front line. Offensively, she hit .339 in the trio of matches with 31 kills.
SCOUTING SETON HALL: The Pirates went winless, suffering a trio of 3-0 sweeps, at the season-opening Golden Dome Invitational in South Bend, Indiana, with losses against Notre Dame, Western Michigan and Cleveland State.
Danielle Schroeder (29 kills), Cherise Hennigan (28 kills) and Abby Thelen (26 kills) led a balanced attack through the first weekend of competition while Haylee Gasser is the top blocking threat after posting 11 total blocks (1.22/set).
Friday marks the first-ever meeting between the Colonials and Pirates.
SCOUTING TOWSON: Towson dominated the Alabama State Tournament last weekend in Montgomery, Alabama, to open the 2016 season. The Tigers went 4-0 with sweeps against Jackson State, Texas Southern, Alabama State and Alabama A&M. The defense was locked in, yielding an average of just 11.5 points per set.
Jessica Lewis is the main threat on the attack after totaling a team-best 51 kills (4.25/set) in the opening weekend.
GW leads the all-time series, 11-2.
SCOUTING CANISUS: Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between the Colonials and the Golden Griffins.
Canisius opened the season last weekend at the Bucknell Invitational. They were bested by East Carolina, 3-0, in the opener before posting a five-set win over Bucknell and a 3-0 sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson.
