Richards, seeing her first action since suffering an ankle injury before the start of the Oregon trip, collected 26 kills, the fifth-highest single-match total in program history. She also earned 11 digs, two assists, two service aces, and three block assists, plus she posted a .396 hitting percentage in the match.
"I missed the team, I missed playing, it was amazing to be back on the court," Richards said. "We have that fight in us, and we wanted to win. This is a great start for our weekend. We needed this win to show ourselves that we can pull through, and now we can focus on the next three matches on the road."
Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) contributed nine kills, two service aces, two digs, and six total blocks, while Kaytlyn Dill (Bothell, Wash.) also had nine kills along with eight digs, a service ace, and three total blocks. Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) posted the fourth-highest block total in a match for Seattle U with 10 total blocks, and Karina Miastkowska (Northbrook, Ill.) notched eight kills, six total blocks, and 10 digs in the contest.
With the first set tied at 11-11, Gonzaga earned three straight points to take the lead, and maintained that advantage until Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) picked up a kill and a service ace to tie the set at 21-21. A kill by Kylie Edinger and a service ace from Denise Van de Mortel allowed the Bulldogs to serve for the first set, but a kill by Keller and two kills from Richards pulled Seattle U into a 24-24 tie. Gonzaga had two more chances to win the set turned away, and the Redhawks closed out the set on a block by Farley and Miastkowska.
Gonzaga (6-5) pulled out to a 10-6 lead in the second set before Richards earned a kill and a block assist to bring Seattle U to within one at 10-9. With the score tied at 17-17, the Redhawks made a couple errors that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good, and Van de Mortel helped close out the set with three kills and an assist, tying the match at 1-1 heading into the intermission.
The Bulldogs maintained that momentum early in the third set, going on a 7-1 run to take a 10-4 lead. Down 14-10, the Redhawks clawed their way back, capped by a service ace from Dill, to tie the set at 17-17. After exchanging the next six points to make the score 20-20, Seattle U won the final five points, with kills by Miastkowska and Dill and a service ace from Richards ending the set.
Gonzaga took the early lead in the fourth set, as the Bulldogs went ahead, 8-4, before a kill and two blocks from Dill tied the set at 8-8. In all, an 8-1 Redhawk run gave the home team a 12-9 advantage, but five unanswered points by Gonzaga later in the set gave the Bulldogs an 18-16 lead. Three kills by Richards tied the set at 23-23, and a block from Keller and Miastkowska set up match point for the Redhawks. However, Gonzaga extended the match with a kill from Meredith Crenshaw, a block by Van de Mortel, and a kill from Laura Day.
Crenshaw picked up a kill and a service ace to give Gonzaga a 6-4 lead in the fifth set, but a 7-1 run by Seattle U capped by consecutive service aces from Keller allowed the Redhawks to pull ahead, 11-7. Fittingly, it was Richards who closed out the set and the match with kills for Seattle U's final two points of the contest.
Jacquie Brice (Fullerton, Calif.) earned the start at the setter position and responded with 43 assists and nine digs, while Megan Augustavo (Shoreline, Wash.) collected 16 assists during the final three sets. Libero Allie Hoskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the team with 12 defensive digs.
"It was really important that we remembered to stay in our system. We have been working on staying consistent and it worked well tonight," Hoskins said. "We did a really good job of staying up, even after losing a point or two, we were still energetic and came right back."
As a team, Seattle U finished with 17.5 team blocks, the second-highest single-match total in program history. The Redhawks posted a .208 hitting percentage with 68 kills and held Gonzaga to a .130 hitting percentage with 55 kills.
"This was a really fun match. Our practices have been great, and sometimes people don't see what's happening in the gym, and these players have worked hard. Tonight we played the way we have been practicing. It was scrappy volleyball, we were digging balls, and we were blocking balls, as our block put a lot of pressure on them. We were swinging at everything we could and blasting balls, and I am proud of my team for keeping the pressure on them," head coach Shannon Ellis said.
Crenshaw led the Bulldogs with 14 kills, a .414 hitting percentage, and five total blocks, plus she collected six digs. Day earned 11 kills and eight digs, and Edinger added 10 kills and two block assists. Van de Mortel notched 44 assists, eight kills, nine digs, and three total blocks, and libero Kristina Lavrisha led all players with three service aces and 18 defensive digs.
Seattle University (2-10) heads to the Aggie Invitational in Davis, Calif., over the weekend, first facing Air Force Friday, Sept. 16, at 4:30 p.m. The Redhawks will take on Hofstra Saturday, Sept. 17, at 10 a.m. before concluding the weekend against host UC Davis Saturday night starting at 7 p.m.