ANOTHER CONFERENCE RUN: After playing four of its last five contests against West Coast Conference schools, the Seattle University volleyball team is about to start a stretch in which four of the next five matches are against schools from the Big Sky Conference, beginning with Monday's matchup against Eastern Washington in Cheney. But before that begins, Seattle U welcomes Trinity Western University from Langley, British Columbia, Canada, to the Connolly Center for an exhibition match. This will be Trinity Western's third match in three days, as the Spartans will be facing Portland and Portland State during their Pacific Northwest trip.
CARDIAC HAWKS: Last season Seattle University competed in only four matches that went five sets. This year's team has already more than doubled that total, playing in nine five-set matches so far in 2010. They have already exceeded the total of eight five-set matches from the 2008 season, the first year Seattle U competed at the Division I level. In that season, four of the team's final six matches went the distance. The record for most five-set matches in one season is 11, set in 2002. Seattle U has shown it can compete with the best, taking nationally-ranked Oregon, Pac-10 school Oregon State, and one-loss teams Utah State and Wyoming to five sets.
LAST WEEK: The week started off well for Seattle University, as the Redhawks came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Portland, 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 15-13) last Tuesday night at the Connolly Center. Cristin Richards posted the second-highest single-match kill total in school history with 27 kills, including seven kills in the deciding fifth set. Jordan Keller posted the second-highest single-match block total with ten total blocks. Seattle U posted its highest hitting percentage of the season at .262. Over the weekend, things did not go as well for the Redhawks, as Seattle U was swept by both San Francisco and Santa Clara. In the USF match, Seattle U was ahead, 21-16, in the first set before the Dons scored nine of the final ten points of the set. After leading throughout the second set, USF held off Seattle U in the third and final set thanks to a 14-4 scoring run to close out the match. Richards led everyone with 21 kills. In the Santa Clara Match, Richards finished with 12 kills and 11 digs, and Allison Farley notched eight total blocks.
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eagles enter the week with a 3-10 record after home victories over Idaho State and Weber State over the weekend. The Idaho State victory broke a ten-match losing streak started by Seattle U at The Invitational at Seattle on Aug. 28. Eastern Washington will face Sacramento State on the road Friday before hosting the Redhawks on Monday. Shelby Puckett leads the team in total kills with 138 as well as in service aces with 10, followed by Chenoa Coviare with 114 kills along with a team-high 48 total blocks. Alysha Cook has returned to action for the Eagles, averaging 2.96 kills per set and posting a .293 hitting percentage. The setting duties have been split between Lindsay Niemeier (6.75 assists/set) and Laney Brown (4.70 assists/set). Lindsey Petroni leads the way in defensive digs with 164, followed by Jacque Brown with 133 digs and Puckett with 125 digs.
PREVIOUS MEETING: Thanks to double-double efforts from junior Cristin Richards and freshman Julia Bonadio, as well as late-match heroics from Janet Beckerman and Kelly Biette, Seattle University overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Eastern Washington in five sets (18-25, 25-18, 13-25, 25-17, 15-13) in the third session of the Invitational of Seattle at the Connolly Center. 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 contributed eight kills to the winning effort. Setter Jamie Mellies collected 53 assists, three kills, eight digs, and two block assists, and Emily Deleissegues added 10 defensive digs in the contest. Shelby Puckett led the Eagles with 21 kills and 19 digs, while Chenoa 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.
MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS: In the career kills list, Cristin Richards moved into fifth place at the ASU Sheraton Classic:
3. Lizzy Safranski (2001-04) 1,133
4. Megan Kaysinger (2001-04) 1,102
5. Cristin Richards (2008-present) 976
On Sept. 6 at the Connolly Center, with a dig during the final point of the first set, Emily Deleissegues earned her 1,000th career dig, the fifth player in school history to reach that mark. In the all-time digs category, Deleissegues moved into fourth place at Santa Clara last Sunday, with Jamie Mellies moving into ninth place as well:
1. Maggie Safranski (2002-05) 2,008
2. Lizzy Safranski (2001-04) 1,181
3. Melissa Mulick (2003-06) 1,175
4. Emily Deleissegues (2007-present) 1,152
5. Erika Brunson (2001-04) 1,145
6. Lora Burris (2000-03) 918
7. Cassey Hussey (2000-03) 874
8. Nikole Thompson (2004-07) 869
9. Jamie Mellies (2007-present) 839
Current Seattle U players Jamie Mellies, Janet Beckerman, Jordan Keller, and Cristin Richards are all in the top ten list for total blocks, with Mellies sitting in fourth place, Beckerman advancing into sixth place, Keller moving into seventh place, and Richards now in a tie for tenth place:
1. Lizzy Safranski (2001-04) 352
2. Janeen Fitzgerald (2002-05) 297
3. Libby Graff (2005-08) 247
4. Jamie Mellies (2007-present) 236
5. Amelie Krahn (2001-04) 232
6. Janet Beckerman (2007-present) 215
7. Jordan Keller (2008-present) 212
8. Sarah Sommerman (2002-05) 177
9. Josie Christiansen (2004-07) 158
T10. Erika Brunson (2001-04) 149
T10. Cristin Richards (2008-present) 149
With a kill by Janet Beckerman to make the score 9-6 in Seattle U's favor in the third set of the Aug. 28 match against Mercer, Jamie Mellies picked up her 3,000th career assist, becoming the second player in school history to reach that mark. She joins Erica Brunson, who played from 2001 to 2004, in that exclusive club.
1. Erica Brunson (2001-04) 3,904
2. Jamie Mellies (2007-present) 3,598