HITTING THE OREGON TRAIL: After opening the 2011 season with three home matches, the Seattle U volleyball squad heads south for a seven-day, six-match road swing through the state of Oregon. The Redhawks will visit all four Division I schools in the Beaver State over the next week, plus they will participate in the Active Ankle Challenge at Oregon State over the Labor Day holiday.
SU FALL VOLLEY: The season started on a positive note for Seattle University, as the Redhawks swept past Eastern Washington in the first match of the Fall Volley (25-21, 25-18, 25-19). Sarah Jaeckel led Seattle U with 16 kills, while Cristin Richards finished with 14 kills and a .414 hitting percentage. Making her first start at the setter position, Megan Augustavo collected 30 assists, 13 digs, and two total blocks in the contest. One year after suffering a season-ending knee injury, Karina Miastkowska contributed seven kills, three service aces, and five digs, while Jordan Keller led the defense with five total blocks. In the final match of the first day of the tournament, Santa Clara was able to defeat Seattle U, 3-0 (25-15, 28-26, 25-14). The Redhawks had three chances to close out the second set, but Santa Clara stayed alive and eventually earned the set victory. The Broncos continued their momentum into the third set, posting a .720 hitting percentage to complete the sweep. In the final match of the tournament Saturday night, Seattle U held a 2-1 match lead and a 23-18 advantage in the fourth set, but Washington State rallied back and eventually won the match and the tournament with a 3-2 win (19-25, 25-21, 17-25, 26-24, 15-12). Richards collected 21 kills, a .442 hitting percentage, two service aces, and 15 digs in the match, earning All-Tournament honors for her performance over the weekend.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Senior Cristin Richards added another honor to her resume, earning All-Tournament recognition at the 2011 Seattle U Fall Volley. Richards finished the weekend with 51 kills, averaging 4.64 kills per set. She made only eight attack errors in 113 attempts for a .381 hitting percentage, plus she collected 25 defensive digs. During the second set of the season-opening match against Eastern Washington, Richards passed Nikole Thompson for second place on the school's all-time kills list. Richards needs 204 kills to pass Sarah Sommerman and become the all-time kills leader. Richards is also seventh all-time in service aces and eighth in total blocks, plus she is 18 digs away from the career top-ten list in that category.
A SUCCESSFUL RETURN: One year after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the opening match of the 2010 season against Portland State, Karina Miastkowska was in the starting lineup as the Redhawks began the 2011 season against Eastern Washington. Miastkowska finished the match against the Eagles with seven kills, three service aces, and five digs. After struggling in the Santa Clara match, Miastkowska contributed eight kills and six total blocks Saturday night against Washington State.
DEBUT PERFORMANCES: Two players who redshirted the 2010 season, Allie Hoskins and Jacquie Brice, made their collegiate debuts during the 2011 Seattle U Fall Volley. Hoskins was used as a defensive specialist throughout the weekend, picking up four digs apiece against Eastern Washington and Santa Clara. Jacquie Brice made her Redhawk debut against Washington State as part of the 6-2 system employed by head coach Shannon Ellis in that match. Brice finished the five-set thriller with 27 assists and seven defensive digs.
TOUGH COMPETITION: Three teams currently in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll are on the Seattle U schedule for 2011: #8 Washington, #15 Colorado State, and #16 Oregon. The Redhawks are guaranteed to face a ranked opponent this week when they head to Eugene to take on the Ducks Friday night. In all likelihood, Washington will be ranked when Seattle U makes the short trip to face the Huskies Thursday, Sept. 8. The Redhawks will face Colorado State Thursday, Oct. 6, in Fort Collins, Colo. Seattle U will face four Pac-12 opponents, five opponents from the West Coast Conference, three schools from the Mountain West Conference, and two Western Athletic Conference foes.
SPEAKING OF THE WAC: Seattle University accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference starting July 1, 2012. The WAC in 2012-13 will consist of 10 members: Denver, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Seattle U, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Texas State, and Utah State.