GOOD TO BE HOME: It has been 35 days since the Seattle U volleyball team has played a home match of any kind and 50 days since it has played a home contest that counted within the regular season. After spending the entire month of October traveling for a seven-match string, the Redhawks finally return to the Connolly Center North Court. Seattle U welcomes fellow independent Cal State Bakersfield for matches on consecutive nights.
UC IRVINE/NORTHERN COLORADO: Last Thursday night, Seattle University lost to UC Irvine, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 26-24) at Crawford Gym. Cristin Richards led the offense with 14 kills, plus collected six digs and four block assists, while Kaytlyn Dill notched a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. Megan Augustavo also achieved a double-double with 30 assists and 13 digs, and libero Allie Hoskins finished with 10 digs to go along with five assists and a kill. UC Irvine scored four unanswered points early in the first set, led by Aly Squires with three kills, to take a 10-6 lead. UC Irvine closed out the set with a 7-2 scoring run, punctuated by a kill from Shaina Olsen and a service ace by Alexandra Hauser. In the second set, two kills and a service ace by Olsen helped UC Irvine put together a 6-1 scoring run to take an 8-4 lead. Down 22-16, Seattle U ran off four straight points, helped by a kill and a block assist from Richards, but the Anteaters scored three of the final four points of the set to take a 2-0 lead into intermission. Back-to-back kills by Dill brought up set point for Seattle U, but Olsen kept the set going with a kill. A block by Arielle Manz and Marissa Alvarez led to match point for the Anteaters, and an attack error by Seattle U clinched the set and the match for the home team. Northern Colorado defeated the Redhawks, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) Saturday night at Butler-Hancock Gym. Richards led the offense with 12 kills along with four digs and three total blocks, while Dill contributed 10 kills, six digs, and four total blocks. Allison Farley added six kills and three block assists, Augustavo dished out 30 assists to go along with seven digs, and Hoskins led the Redhawk defense with 11 digs. The first set was the closest, with seven ties and three lead changes, while Northern Colorado dominated the second set from the start with an early 9-1 scoring run. Seattle U took the early lead in the third set, but the Bears gained control and was able to take advantage of Redhawk mistakes in order to complete the sweep.
SCOUTING CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD: The Roadrunners bring a 6-16 record into this weekend's matches. Cal State Bakersfield is on a five-match losing streak and is 0-9 in pure road contests so far this season. Haleigh Haratyk leads the team with 352 kills, a 4.57 kills per set average, and 21 service aces, plus she is second on the squad with 159 digs. The setting duties have been split between Lisa Bartsch (377 assists) and Danielle Gong (333 assists). Bartsch is also second on the team with 18 service aces and third on the squad with 121 digs. Defensively, Chelcy Motes leads the team at the net with 54 total blocks, while Lauren Holderman leads in the backline with 239 digs.
SEATTLE U VS. CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD: These will be the 10th and 11th meetings all-time between the Redhawks and the Roadrunners, with Seattle U currently holding a 6-3 advantage. All of the meetings have taken place since the 2008 season, when Seattle U joined CSUB as a reclassifying school. On Oct. 25, 2008, the Roadrunners defeated the Redhawks in four sets at the Connolly Center (25-14, 25-18, 25-27, 25-22). Sarah Norman led CSUB with 20 kills while Mystie McNaughton collected 30 digs. For Seattle U, Libby Graff had nine kills, two service aces, and four total blocks, while Kaytlyn Dill also had nine kills and two aces to go along with eight digs. The teams split back-to-back meetings in Bakersfield Nov. 1-2, 2009, with the Roadrunners easily sweeping the Redhawks in the first match before Seattle U came back and won a five-set thriller the second night. In the Redhawk victory, Cristin Richards earned 22 kills and seven digs, Dill collected 17 kills and 20 digs, and Jamie Mellies finished with 56 assists, four kills, four service aces, 10 digs, and seven total blocks. These teams met five times during the 2010 season, with Seattle U winning all five meetings.
LAST MEETING: On Sept. 4, during the Active Ankle Challenge hosted by Oregon State, Cal State Bakersfield swept Seattle U, although all three sets were close (25-23, 25-23, 25-23). Haleigh Haratyk led the Roadrunners with 19 kills along with a .417 hitting percentage. Sarah Jaeckel led the Redhawks with 13 kills.