After losing the first two sets, the Seattle University volleyball team came back into Saturday’s match by pulling away to win the third set, holding off four match points for Penn and eventually taking the fourth set, and jumping out to an early lead in the deciding set to defeat the Quakers, 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 32-30, 15-10), in a neutral site match at McKeon Pavilion on the campus of Saint Mary’s College.
In the pivotal fourth set, Seattle University took an early 13-9 lead before Penn chipped away at the lead, eventually going ahead 20-19 on a Redhawk attack error. Seattle University scored five of the next seven points to serve for the set at 24-22, but the Quakers scored the next three points, two of them on kills by Elizabeth Semmens, to earn its first chance to close out the match.
Back-to-back kills by Janet Beckerman (Bellevue, Wash.) and Kaytlyn Dill (Bothell, Wash.) allowed the Redhawks to retake the advantage, but consecutive kills by Kathryn Turner gave Penn a 27-26 lead and another match point. Two Quaker service errors kept the Redhawks in the match, and Seattle University scored three of the final four points, including a block and a service ace, to pull out the fourth set and extend the match.
With the score tied 4-4 in the fifth set, Dill notched consecutive kills to give Seattle University the lead for good. Beckerman extended the Redhawk advantage with a kill and a service ace, and Seattle completed the comeback with a block by Emily Powell (Puyallup, Wash.) and Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) on match point.
"It was a hard-fought match by both teams. It was great to see our team figure out how to finish and get the win," head coach Shannon Ellis said.
Dill notched a double-double with a team-high 16 kills to go along with 15 digs and three total blocks. The middle hitters played extremely well for the Redhawks, as Beckerman finished with 14 kills, two aces, and seven block assists, while Powell contributed 12 kills and a team-high eight block assists, tied for the fourth-most in a single match in SU history. As a team, Seattle University earned 15.5 blocks, second-most in a match behind only the 17 blocks the Redhawks collected last season at Alaska Fairbanks.
With four different players in double figures in kills, Mellies distributed the ball well, finishing with 44 assists, 11 digs, and five total blocks. Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) earned ten kills and two block assists, and Libby Graff (Beaverton, Ore.) added three kills, three service aces, eight digs, and six total blocks. In the back, libero Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) led the Redhawks with 22 digs plus earned two service aces, and Shelly Anderson (Bothell, Wash.) also made a significant contribution with three aces and seven digs.
Pennsylvania (4-7) was led by Turner with 17 kills and Semmens with 16 kills. Julia Swanson notched a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs, and Anne Magnuson contributed 11 kills in the match. Setter Megan Tryon finished with 56 assists and nine digs, while Madi Wojchiechowski led all players with 23 defensive digs.
Seattle University held the lead late in each of the first two sets, but Penn was able to come back and win both of them. The Redhawks were up as much as six points in the first set before the Quakers went on a 11-3 run to take the opening set, with back-to-back kills by Semmens finishing the job.
In set two, a 10-2 run allowed Seattle University to take a 19-11 advantage, but after a timeout, Penn scored eight unanswered points to pull into a tie, then scored six of the final eight points to go up two sets to zero. The momentum started to swing at the end of the third set, as Seattle University won its first set in seven matches by scoring seven of the last eight points.
Seattle University (3-12) heads to the University of San Francisco to face the Dons later tonight at 7 p.m. The Redhawks then receive a well-deserved 12-day break before hosting Concordia University (Ore.) on Friday, Oct. 10, at the Connolly Center beginning at 7 p.m.