SENIOR NIGHT: The Seattle University volleyball team will play its final home match of the 2011 season Thursday, Nov. 10, against Portland State beginning at 7 p.m. Before the match, seniors Megan Augustavo, Jordan Keller, and Cristin Richards will be honored for their contributions to the volleyball program. This is a rematch of a thrilling contest from Aug. 31 in which Portland State came back from losing the first two sets to defeat Seattle U, 3-2.
GOING TO THE BEACH: The theme of Thursday's match for the Seattle U students is one of the beach, which many people are probably thinking of as the Seattle weather becomes cold and rainy. RedZone, the student support group for Seattle U athletics, will be dressing like they are going to the beach, there will be beach-themed music, and some kind of beach-themed promotion will take place during the intermission between sets two and three.
LAST WEEKEND: Playing its first regular season home contest in 50 days, Seattle U started the weekend with a 3-1 victory over CSU Bakersfield (25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21) Friday night at the Connolly Center. Kaytlyn Dill finished with 20 kills, three service aces, and six digs, while Julia Bonadio contributed 11 kills and six digs off the bench. Jordan Keller added six kills, five service aces, and four block assists, and Allie Hoskins led the backline with 16 defensive digs. 24 hours later, CSU Bakersfield turned the tables on the Redhawks with a 3-1 win in the rematch (25-13, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22). The Roadrunners hit .700 in the first set and kept up the offensive pressure, finishing the match with a .355 hitting percentage. Dill again led the Redhawk offense with 13 kills and two service aces, while Cristin Richards came off the bench and notched a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs.
THE SENIORS: Sometimes it is hard to come up with things to say about student-athletes on Senior Night. That is not the case with the three volleyball seniors who will be playing the final home match in their collegiate careers. Moving from defensive specialist to setter this season, Megan Augustavo leads the team with 664 assists this season and is second on the squad with 171 digs. Jordan Keller will leave Seattle U as the all-time blocks leader, adding 67 total blocks to her total this year. Although she missed eight matches with an injury earlier this season, Cristin Richards still has a chance to break the career kills record by averaging 10 kills per match in the last three contests of the year.
SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE: The Vikings come into Thursday's match with a 14-12 overall record, including a 10-4 record in Big Sky play, good enough for second place in the league standings, just a half-game behind Northern Colorado. Portland State has won six of its last seven matches and is 5-7 in road matches this season. Megan Ellis leads the team with 334 kills, averaging 3.48 kills per set, plus she is second on the squad with 265 digs. Garyn Schlatter has been more than the team's primary setter, collecting 818 assists, 157 kills, a team-high 21 service aces, 207 digs, and 80 total blocks. Defensively, Katie O'Brien leads the team at the net with 123 total blocks, and Nicole Bateham paces the squad in the back with 416 defensive digs.
SEATTLE U VS. PORTLAND STATE: The Redhawks are still looking for their breakthrough victory over Portland State, with the Vikings holding a 5-0 series lead heading into Thursday's contest. The first meeting took place in Portland Sept. 13, 2008, with the Vikings sweeping the Redhawks, 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-18). Portland State also won the next season's match on Oct. 7, 2009, in Seattle in three straight sets (25-19, 25-23, 25-19). Last season, the Vikings opened the year by defeating Seattle U in a tight four-set match at the Connolly Center Aug. 27, 2010 (28-26, 25-22, 26-28, 25-18). Back in Portland Oct. 7, 2010, the Vikings cruised past the Redhawks in three straight sets (25-13, 25-20, 25-13).
LAST MEETING: At the start of a seven-match road trip, Seattle U faced Portland State at the Stott Center Aug. 31. The Redhawks won the first two sets before the Vikings came back and won the next three sets for the 3-2 match victory (24-26, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-12). Sarah Jaeckel led the Redhawk offense with 16 kills to go along with six digs and four block assists, while Alec Goodrie, making her first career appearance in a collegiate match, earned 10 kills while making only one attack error, plus she collected six block assists. Jordan Keller contributed five kills, five service aces, and 10 total blocks. Megan Augustavo notched a double-double with 20 assists and 13 digs, Jacquie Brice dished out 27 assists, and Lani Beadle earned 19 digs. Megan Ellis led the Vikings with 18 kills, with Kaeli Patton contributing 12 kills and five service aces. Garyn Schlatter played a solid all-around match with 51 assists, six kills, nine digs, and seven block assists, Leigh-Ann Haataja earned nine kills and 10 total blocks, and Nicole Bateham finished with 19 defensive digs.
COACHING PURSUIT: With 99 career victories, Shannon Ellis is one win away from reaching the 100-win mark for her career. Ellis led the Redhawks to an 18-13 record during the 2010 season, the program's first winning record since making the transition to Division I.