Seattle University Volleyball Shows Improvement in Loss To #4 Huskies

The Seattle University volleyball team was competitive in its match against the fourth-ranked Washington Huskies, but the perennial power was able to come away with a 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-11, 25-18) Saturday morning in the third match of the Invitational at Seattle at the Connolly Center.

After Washington scored four straight points to take the early lead in the first set, Seattle University came back to tie it at 9-9 before the Huskies took the lead for good. Jill Collymore earned four kills, two aces, and four digs in the opening set, while Bianca Rowland was a perfect 4-for-4 in her attack attempts.

The Huskies dominated the second set, making only one attack error and posting a .520 hitting percentage. Collymore went 4-for-5 in her attack attempts and Rowland finished with two kills in three attempts as well as four total blocks.

Seattle University recovered in the third set, forcing several Husky attack errors in pulling even with the visitors from Montlake, 14-14. A kill by Kindra Carlson and an ace from Jenna Hagglund started a 7-1 Washington run, and Rowland combined with Airial Salvo for a block at match point.

Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) again led the way for Seattle University with nine kills, plus she collected 12 defensive digs. Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) earned five kills in eight attempts, while setter Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) finished with 20 assists and six digs. Libero Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) showed her toughness against the big hitters of Washington, leading all players with 13 digs.

Washington (2-0) spread around its offense, with Carlson leading the team with 11 kills. Collymore earned nine kills, three aces, and eight digs in the match, and Rowland finished 8-for-10 in attack attempts to go along with five total blocks. Hagglund finished with 29 assists, and libero Tamari Miyashiro led the Huskies with 11 digs.

In the second match of the day, San Diego State (2-0) recovered from a first-set loss to defeat San Jose State (0-2), 3-1 (18-25, 25-12, 25-15, 25-22). Hannah Evans led the Aztecs with 16 kills, while Alex Akana earned nine kills to lead the Spartans.

Seattle University (0-2) will conclude its action in the Invitational at Seattle Saturday night, hosting San Jose State beginning at 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center. This will be the last home match for the Redhawks until Sept. 22.