The Seattle University volleyball team could not contain the offense of Portland State University, as the Vikings posted a .432 hitting percentage on their way to a 3-0 victory (25-13, 25-20, 25-13) Thursday night at the Stott Center.
Cristin Richards (Olympia, Wash.) led the Redhawks with nine kills, including the 1,000th kill of her collegiate career, plus she collected six digs and three total blocks. Janet Beckerman (Bellevue, Wash.) finished with seven kills, while Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) led the team with four total blocks at the net. Jamie Mellies (Henderson, Nev.) dished out 26 assists, and Emily Deleissegues (Aromas, Calif.) contributed ten defensive digs.
"There are no excuses tonight. They (Portland State) played well, and we didn't," head coach Shannon Ellis said. "We are now directing all of our attention to the next match, who we are, and what we do."
Portland State (9-7) took the early lead in the first set on back-to-back kills by Garyn Schlatter and never looked back. A 7-2 run punctuated by a kill and a service ace by Whitney Phillips increased the Vikings' lead to 15-9, and the home team closed out the set on a 10-2 scoring run, with Phillips earning two kills and a block assist near the end of the set.
The Vikings pulled out to an 8-3 lead in the second set, but the Redhawks fought back, forcing an attack error to come within two at 10-8. Portland State responded with a 9-3 run to extend the lead out to 19-11, but Seattle U did not give up, as Richards collected three kills and a service ace during an 8-2 run that cut the Viking lead to two at 21-19. However, Seattle U committed a service error and an attack error to help Portland State close out the second set.
Once again, Portland State jumped out to an early lead in the third set, with a service ace by Lana Zielke punctuating a 9-3 run to open the set. The Vikings closed out the set and the match by outscoring the Redhawks 10-3, as Schlatter ended the contest with her fourth service ace of the contest.
Megan Ellis led the Vikings with 14 kills, while Phillips, who collected 32 kills in the first meeting in August, finished with 13 kills, a .478 hitting percentage, and 11 digs. Zielke earned eight kills on 11 attempts, and Schlatter finished with seven kills, 27 assists, and three total blocks to go along with her four aces. Cara Olden led the team at the net with six total blocks, while Diana Villalpando led the way with 15 digs and Domi Kristinikova added 12 assists and eight digs to the winning effort.
Seattle University (8-11) will host Idaho State Saturday, Oct. 9, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center. It has been designated as the Dig Pink match, with proceeds from a bake sale hosted by the Seattle U Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) to benefit Komen for the Cure.