Junior Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) collected 19 kills along with a service ace, five digs, and four total blocks. Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) notched a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, while Janet Beckerman (Bellevue, Wash.) finished with 10 kills and Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) contributed seven kills. Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) had a solid all-around match with 41 assists, five kills, two service aces, and six digs. In the back, Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) led the way with 11 defensive digs.
"This was a fun match against a spirited team," head coach Shannon Ellis said. "Sarah started us off strong and Janet and Cristin finished the job. Emily was great passing all night long. Now we gear up for another tough test tomorrow."
In the first set, Seattle U scored four of the first five points and never looked back, not allowing the Ospreys to come any closer than two points behind the rest of the set. The Redhawks continually expanded the lead, especially with a 7-2 run capped by a service ace from Richards. Back-to-back kills by Jaeckel and Richards closed out the opening set.
North Florida (5-18) took the early lead in the second set, but Richards earned a kill and a block assist to put Seattle U ahead, 5-4. Three straight Osprey attack errors gave the Redhawks a 12-7 lead, but North Florida recovered with consecutive kills by Marshay Greenlee as part of three unanswered points to pull within two at 12-10. Seattle U responded with six straight points of its own, and after North Florida held off set point four times, Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) earned a kill to end the set and give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead.
The Ospreys won the first five points of the third set and eventually opened a 9-2 lead before Seattle U started a potential comeback. Down 20-12, the Redhawks closed the gap, going on a 9-3 scoring run to cut the deficit to two at 23-21, but a kill by Dagnija Medina and a Seattle U service error allowed the home team to extend the match into a fourth set.
The fourth set was close throughout, as the two teams battled early in the set and produced a 9-9 tie. Kills by Mellies, Jaeckel, and Farley gave the Redhawks the lead for good, but the Ospreys continued to fight back, coming within one point twice, the second time at 20-19. The Seattle U response was led by Richards with three kills and a block assist, and Beckerman clinched the set and the match with a kill of her own.
Keller, now with 110 total blocks, finished the match with four total blocks, breaking the school record for most blocks in a single season previously held by Lizzy Safranski with 107 blocks in 2004. Meanwhile, with 385 kills so far this season, Richards is closing in on becoming only the second player in school history to earn at least 400 kills in a single season, joining Sarah Sommerman, who finished the 2005 season with 421 kills.
Paige Pridgeon led the Ospreys with 16 kills, plus she collected nine digs, while Medina earned nine kills and four total blocks. Jessica Catelano finished with eight kills and seven digs, and Greenlee also collected eight kills in the match. Britt Claessens distributed 40 assists along with seven digs, and Nicole Baran led all players with 21 digs along with two service aces.
Seattle University (11-12) remains in Jacksonville to face the Dolphins of Jacksonville University Friday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. local time. The road trip will conclude with a Saturday morning match against Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., beginning at 11 a.m. local time. The Redhawks will not play at the Connolly Center again until they host Cal State Bakersfield and North Carolina Central in the Independent Tournament Nov. 19-20.