Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) once again led the way offensively with 17 kills, three service aces, and a .615 hitting percentage, the third-highest hitting percentage in a single match for a Seattle U player. Janet Beckerman (Bellevue, Wash.) and Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) each earned eight kills and three block assists, while Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) ran a solid offense, finishing with 34 assists along with nine digs. Defensively, Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) led all players with eight total blocks, and Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) collected 12 defensive digs to move into second place on the school's all-time digs list.
"We really bounced back well after (our loss at Portland State) Thursday," head coach Shannon Ellis said. "Our passing was solid, which led to a good offense, which Jamie ran outstandingly. Cristin once again put up monster numbers for us."
In the opening set, a block by Beckerman and Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) as well as a kill by Jaeckel gave Seattle U the early lead. Idaho State came back to tie the first set, but back-to-back kills by Beckerman and a Richards service ace gave the Redhawks the lead for good. Seattle U won the final four points of the set, with Jaeckel notching the set-clinching point with a kill.
Jaeckel earned two kills and two block assists as part of an 8-1 scoring run that started the second set. Once again, the play at the net for Seattle U proved to be the difference, as Keller was part of two blocks that closed out the second set and gave the Redhawks a 2-0 lead going into the intermission.
Idaho State (10-9) scored the first two points of the third set, but Seattle U followed with five unanswered points to pull ahead, 5-2. After the Bengals came back to tie the set at 8-8, the Redhawks earned eight consecutive points to take a comfortable lead at 16-8. Idaho State closed to within four, but Richards finally closed out the match with a kill for the home team.
Britta Bartschi-Rhodehouse led the Bengals with 10 kills, a .368 hitting percentage, and three total blocks. Jennika Wright earned seven kills and two block assists, while Jaclyn Hone contributed six kills and eight defensive digs. Karissa Legaux became the main setter in the second set and finished with 21 assists, and Jenna Proost also earned eight digs for the Bengals.
As a team, Seattle U not only posted a season-best hitting percentage of .310, but it also held Idaho State to a .096 hitting percentage, the lowest for a Redhawk opponent this season. Besides Richards' single-match exploits, Deleissegues moved into second place on Seattle U's all-time digs list, passing both Melissa Mulick and Lizzy Safranski during the match.
Seattle University (9-11) will take a quick trip to California to face San Diego State next Friday, Oct. 15, beginning at 7 p.m. The Redhawks will then return home for a matinee against Montana State Sunday, Oct. 17, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Connolly Center. That will be Senior Day, as the careers of Beckerman, Deleissegues, and Mellies will be celebrated.