The Seattle University volleyball team showed its improvement from the previous match, but still could not overcome the power of the opposition, as South Florida used its total game to defeat the Redhawks, 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-21), Thursday afternoon at the Connolly Center.
(4-0) went on a 16-5 run midway through the first set to take a 20-9 lead and cruise to the victory. The Bulls made only two attack errors in the opening set and earned three service aces and 4.5 team blocks as the Redhawks were on their heels throughout the set. Seattle University took a 7-3 lead early in the second set and forced seven ties, but South Florida finished the set on a 9-2 run to go into the intermission up two sets to zero.
Back-to-back attack errors by South Florida gave a 12-7 lead midway through the third set, but again the Bulls came back, scoring four straight points after taking a timeout to come within one at 12-11. Consecutive blocks allowed to go up 22-19 late in the set, and then Alli Arbogast notched a kill and a service ace, followed by a Redhawk attack error to end the match.
Janet Beckerman (, ) led with nine kills and two block assists, while Kaytlyn Dill () notched eight kills and five digs in the match. Jamie Mellies (, ) finished with 23 assists, and Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, ) again led the team defensively with nine digs.
For , Marcela Gurgel led the way with 13 kills, plus she earned 13 digs. Nakia Williams collected seven kills from the middle, and Arbogast finished the day with six kills, four service aces, and eight total blocks. Libero Stephanie Augustavo, playing in front of numerous friends and family members, led all players with 17 digs, plus she earned two service aces.
(1-4) heads to , , to participate in a tournament hosted by the . The Redhawks will face sixth-ranked UCLA Saturday, Sept. 6, beginning at 3 p.m., followed by a contest against the host Wolf Pack Sunday, Sept. 7, at 12 noon. does not return to the until an exhibition match against the Zhejiang Club Team of China on Friday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m.