SEATTLE, Wash. - Seattle University played inspired volleyball on Senior Night to defeat Central Washington University 25-30, 30-28, 30-25, and 30-26, Thursday night at the Connolly Center.
The win keeps the Redhawks' postseason hopes alive. Seattle came into the match ranked ninth regionally, while Central Washington was ranked seventh. The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament, and those selections will be announced on Sunday.
Tori Ross (Shoreline, Wash.) varied the Seattle attack all night, finishing with 43 assists to go with seven kills. Nikole Thompson (Marysville, Wash.) had 17 kills to lead the Redhawks.
Central Washington (19-6, 10-5 GNAC) proved to be too much for Seattle in game one. Stephanie Powell had seven kills in the game to provide the scoring spark. The Redhawks trailed the entire game before pulling even at 24 apiece on back-to-back service aces by Marisa Vierra (Oakland, Calif.), giving her four in the game. However, Central Washington scored the final five points to complete the game one victory.
Game two was a back and forth affair before a big kill by Jenny Burrows (Reno, Nev.) sealed a close victory. The turning point of the game came on consecutive service aces by Thompson to even the game at 25. Emily Powell (Puyallup, Wash.) led the Seattle offense in the game with six kills and also had a huge block to put the Redhawks up 29-27.
Libby Graff (Beaverton, Ore.) had two late kills to lead Seattle to a game three victory. After the Wildcats took a 24-22 lead, Seattle fought back with aces from Thompson and Josie Christiansen (Coquille, Ore.) to tie up the match and set up Graff's heroics.
Game four saw Seattle dominate early before letting Central Washington back into the match to set up an exciting finish. After Central Washington got within two at 27-25, Ross came up with a game-changing block after a long rally to bring the momentum back to Seattle. Burrows would add a late kill to seal the game and the match for the Redhawks.
Seattle's defense was led by Melissa Mulick (Gaston, Ore.) whose 28 digs extended her single-season school record to 621. She also moved into third place on the Seattle's all-time career digs list with 1,159.
After the match, the coaching staff and players honored Mulick, Vierra, and Tiffany Ross (Phoenix, Ore.) for their contributions to the Seattle volleyball program.
Seattle University (17-9, 8-7 GNAC) concludes the regular season Saturday night at Western Oregon in a match that begins at 7 p.m.