Freshman Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) led the way for the Redhawks with 19 kills, plus she earned 10 digs. Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) finished with 16 kills, two service aces, eight digs, and three total blocks, while Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) earned 11 kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and a team-high eight block assists.
"We did a good job of executing our game plan in sets two, three, and four. I'm especially proud of our middles tonight. It was a career day for Jordan Keller, as she played awesome," head coach Shannon Ellis said. "Now it's time to get our players rested and recovered for tomorrow."
Setter Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) played a solid all-around match with 50 assists, eight digs, and six block assists, with libero Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) leading all players with 15 digs and Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) contributing 14 defensive digs.
Idaho won the first set, but Seattle U recovered in the second set, thanks in part to an early 4-1 run at the start of the set. After Idaho came back and took the lead, the Redhawks went on a 10-1 run, dominating the Vandals at the net with five blocks during the scoring run. Idaho won the next three points, followed by a kill and a block assist by Richards to set up set point. The Vandals went on another 3-0 run, but Seattle U finally closed out the second set with another Richards kill.
The Redhawks cleaned up their game in the third set, making only two attack errors and hitting .409 for the set. An Idaho attack error and a block by Keller and Janet Beckerman (Bellevue, Wash.) early in the third set gave Seattle U the lead for good. The productive offense helped the Redhawks break away, and Keller closed out the set with a kill to give Seattle U a 2-1 match lead.
Seattle U maintained the momentum into the fourth set, scoring eight of the first nine points thanks in part to two service aces by Richards. After the Redhawks extended the lead into double digits, back-to-back aces by Idaho's Alicia Milo brought the Vandals back within nine at 21-12. After Seattle U called timeout to settle things down, the team closed out the set and the match on kills by Jaeckel and Richards.
In the first set, a kill by Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.), a service ace from Beadle, and consecutive kills by Jaeckel allowed the Redhawks to take a 7-5 lead, but Idaho responded with an 11-3 scoring run to pull ahead, 17-11. The Vandals closed out the set with a kill by Miranda Pratt and a service ace by Janelle Chow.
Idaho (4-7) was led by Pratt's 12 kills, along with 11 kills, a .550 hitting percentage, and three total blocks by Kelsey Taylor. Ryann Carter (19 assists) and Jennifer Feicht (15 assists) split the setting duties in the match, while Julia Church and Cassie Hamilton each earned 13 defensive digs to pace the Vandals.
Seattle University (5-7) stays here for the second day of the Zags Volleyball Classic Saturday, facing host Gonzaga at 12 noon followed by a match against Wyoming at 4:30 p.m. The Redhawks' next home match is Tuesday, Sept. 21, against Portland at the Connolly Center beginning at 7 p.m.