After earning more errors than kills in the third set, Seattle U cleaned up its game in the fourth set, making only two attack errors and hitting .444 in the set. Back-to-back kills by Richards gave the Redhawks the early lead, and then she earned four more kills in a row to help Seattle U extend its lead to 16-8. An attack error by the Eagles closed out the set in Seattle U's favor, forcing the deciding fifth set.
Three kills by Richards plus a block and a kill by Biette allowed the Redhawks to open a 7-2 advantage in the final set. After the two teams switched sides, Eastern Washington picked up the momentum, outscoring Seattle U 9-4 to pull into a 12-12 tie. With the set tied at 13-13, a kill by Biette set up match point, and Biette combined with Beckerman to block an attack attempt from Ashley Wright that clinched the Redhawks' first victory of the season.
Richards finished the afternoon with 22 kills, two service aces, and 15 digs, while Bonadio continued to make an immediate impact on the Redhawk program, earning 17 kills and a match-high 21 digs during the contest. Beckerman earned nine kills, and Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) contributed eight kills to the winning effort. Setter Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) collected 53 assists, three kills, eight digs, and two block assists, and Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) added 10 defensive digs in the contest.
Eastern Washington (1-1) made only two attack errors in the first set, scoring eight of the first nine points of the match. Seattle University pulled to within four at 17-13, but the Eagles answered with five straight points, and a kill by Wright closed out the opening set in Eastern Washington's favor.
Seattle U took the early lead in the second set, scoring six of the first eight points before the Eagles answered with three straight points to come within one at 6-5. The visitors struggled, making three straight attack errors midway through the set, and a service ace by Bonadio gave Seattle U a 14-8 lead. Late in the set, Farley earned two kills and a solo block, followed by a kill at set point to tie the match at 1-1 heading into the intermission.
As in the first set, Eastern Washington took early control of the third set, jumping out to a 9-1 lead. The Eagles made only one attack error in the third set, continually extending the advantage thanks to short bursts of scoring such as 5-0 and 4-0. Back-to-back blocks involving Chenoa Coviare brought Eastern Washington to set point, and a service error by the Redhawks gave the Eagles the match lead heading into the fourth set.
Shelby Puckett led the Eagles with 21 kills and 19 digs, while Coviare contributed 12 kills and six total blocks and Wright also earned 12 kills to go along with three block assists. Setter Laney Brown earned a double-double with 52 assists and 11 digs, plus she picked up four kills and two block assists, with libero Lindsey Petroni finishing with 18 digs and Jacque Brown adding four kills, 14 digs, and two block assists.
Seattle University (1-1) will look to continue its winning ways later tonight, hosting Mercer University in the final session of the Invitational of Seattle starting at 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center. Mercer enters the match with a 0-3 record after being swept by Portland State (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) earlier Saturday at Bank of America Arena. Live stats for the match will be available on GoSeattleU.com.