ANOTHER SPLIT WEEK: For the second straight week, Seattle University will play one home match and one road match. As opposed to last week, the team will start this week at home, with defending Big Sky tournament champion Portland State coming to the Connolly Center on Wednesday. After that, it is a quick trip to Las Vegas, as SeattleU will face UNLV for the first time ever. The UNLV match is the first of seven straight road contests for the Redhawks that will extend over a month.
LAST WEEK: Seattle University showed signs of a comeback by winning the third set, but the Portland Pilots took early control of the fourth set on their way to a 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 25-13) last Wednesday night at the Chiles Center. Cristin Richards led the way for Seattle University with 12 kills along with nine digs and two total blocks, while Janet Beckerman contributed seven kills and three block assists. Jamie Mellies collected 30 assists, five digs, and five total blocks, Raissa Licano-Sanchez contributed eight blocks to go along with four kills, and Emily Deleissegues led the team with 20 defensive digs and one service ace. On Thursday night at the Connolly Center, after dropping the first set, the Seattle University volleyball team improved its offensive output, hitting over .300 the rest of the night in a 3-1 victory (20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19) over Trinity Western University. Richards and Kaytlyn Dill each notched double-doubles, with Richards collecting 15 kills and 12 digs along with two aces, and Dill earning 15 kills and 11 digs along with a service ace and three block assists. Licano-Sanchez did not commit an attack error during the match, finishing with seven kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and three total blocks. Mellies collected 41 assists, three service aces, six digs, and two block assists. In the back, libero Deleissegues led the way with 16 defensive digs, and Megan Augustavo collected nine digs in the match.
INDEPENDENT PLAYER OF THE WEEK: With double-digit kills in each match over the past week, Cristin Richards has been named the Division I Independent Player of the Week, announced Monday by the weekly award coordinator. Last Wednesday at the University of Portland, Richards led Seattle University with 12 kills, plus she collected nine digs and two block assists. In the third set, Richards earned three kills and a block assist as SeattleU outscored Portland, 7-1, to open an 18-12 advantage and help the Redhawks extend the match into the fourth set. The next night, Richards notched a double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs, plus she earned two service aces and a block assist in SeattleU's four-set home win over Trinity Western.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS: For two straight weeks, sophomore Cristin Richards was named to an all-tournament team, earning the honor at the Pepperdine Asics Classic and the Active Ankle Challenge. In the three matches in Malibu, Richards accumulated 37 kills, two service aces, 18 digs, and six block assists. The previous weekend at Oregon State, she compiled 31 kills, 18 digs, and eight total blocks in the three matches. Jamie Mellies repeated Richards' feat after being named to the All-Tournament Team at the Mission Inn of Pismo Beach Invitational. In the three matches at Cal Poly, Mellies collected 89 assists, two aces, 11 digs, and three total blocks. Mellies was also named to the all-tournament team at Pepperdine after notching 85 assists, 24 digs, and eight total blocks.
SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE: The Vikings come into Wednesday's match with a 9-6 record, including a 4-1 record in Big Sky play. After starting the season 2-5, Portland State has won seven of its last eight matches. Whitney Phillips leads the team with 269 kills, averaging 4.72 kills per set, which ranks fifth in the country. Nique Fradella leads the way with 616 assists and 23 service aces, while Erica Jepsen has 63 total blocks, averaging 1.43 blocks per set. Marija Vojnovic leads the team in total digs with 138, while Nicole Bateham is averaging a team-high 3.30 digs per set.
SCOUTING UNLV: The Rebels come into Saturday's match with a 3-10 record, including a 2-4 record in Mountain West play. UNLV is only 1-8 at home, a five-set victory over Wyoming on Sept. 22. Cursty Jackson leads the Rebels with 133 kills and 43 total blocks, while Erin Greenwood has 90 kills, a .327 hitting percentage, and 38 total blocks, including 11 solo blocks. Kela Lau Hee is the team leader in service aces (8) and digs (140). The setting duties have been split between Amanda Alles (245 assists) and Samantha Richard (176 assists).
MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS: In the career kills list, both Cristin Richards and Kaytlyn Dill are moving up the list, with Richards sitting in ninth and Dill moving into tenth place earlier this season:
8. Amelie Krahn (2001-04) 680
9. Cristin Richards (2008-present) 557
10. Kaytlyn Dill (2008-present) 470
11. Dori Christiansen (2000-03) 403
In the all-time digs category, junior Emily Deleissegues has moved into the top ten and currently sits in eighth place on that list, with Jamie Mellies just outside the top ten:
7. Nikole Thompson (2004-07) 869
8. Emily Deleissegues (2007-present) 779
9. Marissa Vierra (2002-06) 727
10. Shelly Anderson (2007-08) 662
11. Jamie Mellies (2007-present) 617
Current SeattleU players Jamie Mellies and Janet Beckerman are in the top ten list for total blocks, with Mellies sitting in fifth place and Beckerman advancing into a tie for eighth place:
4. Amelie Krahn (2001-04) 232
5. Jamie Mellies (2007-present) 182
6. Sarah Sommerman (2002-05) 177
7. Josie Christiansen (2004-07) 158
T8. Janet Beckerman (2007-present) 149
T8. Erika Brunson (2001-04) 149
10. Emily Powell (2006-08) 147
Mellies is also second on the career assists list with 2,569, with only Erika Brunson ahead of her. However, Mellies needs 1,336 assists to pass Brunson, who notched 3,904 assists from 2001 to 2004.
INDEPENDENT STANDINGS: There are six Division I programs competing as independent schools this season: Bryant University, Cal State Bakersfield, North Carolina Central, Providence College, Savannah State. and Seattle University. Through the matches of Sunday, Oct. 4, Cristin Richards is fourth among the independent schools in total kills with 225 and third in kills per set with 3.36. Jamie Mellies is third in assists with 558, while Emily Deleissegues is fourth in digs with 258. In the total blocks category, Kelly Biette is fourth with 55 and Mellies stands in seventh place with 43. At the end of last week, Cal State Bakersfield had the best record among the independent schools with a 10-10 mark.