Similar to the first meeting earlier this season, Seattle University played New Mexico State tough, but the Aggies were able to win the important points before seizing control of the match in the fourth set to defeat the Redhawks, 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16), in a Western Athletic Conference volleyball match Monday night at the Pan American Center.
Kaytlyn Dill (Bothell, Wash.) led the Redhawks with 23 kills, with Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) collecting 13 kills and eight digs, Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) finishing with 10 kills, and Karina Miastkowska (Northbrook, Ill.) contributing nine kills and eight digs. Jacquie Brice (Fullerton, Calif.) dished out 48 assists to go along with nine digs, and Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) earned 21 digs and two service aces.
New Mexico State (17-7, 10-3 WAC) won the first three points of the match, starting with a service ace by Meredith Hays and a block by Lauren Loerch. Back-to-back service aces from Stephanie Ziegler extended the Aggies' lead to 12-5, but Seattle U responded with a 7-1 scoring run, led by three kills from Dill, to close its deficit to three at 17-14. New Mexico State kept the Redhawks at bay, eventually winning the set on a kill by Nathalie Castellanos.
The Aggies slowly pulled out to a 12-6 lead in the second set, punctuated by kills from Desiree Scott and Hays. The Redhawks scored six straight points on Beadle's serve, as she earned two aces to go along with three kills from Dill, and then Farley earned back-to-back kills to give Seattle U an 18-15 lead. New Mexico State fought back, as Preslie Alexander collected a block assist, two kills, and a service ace, part of a 10-3 Aggie scoring run to close out the second set.
After losing three of the first four points of the third set, Seattle U went on a 5-1 scoring run, led by Dill with two kills and a service ace, to go ahead, 6-4. The Aggies responded with three straight points and eventually extended their lead to 13-9, but the Redhawks used three errors by the home team to tie the set. After exchanging points for a while, Seattle U pulled ahead on kills by Dill and Jaeckel, and those two would score the Redhawks' final two points of the third set to extend the match into a fourth set.
Hays led New Mexico State at the start of the fourth set with two kills and a service ace, giving the Aggies a 7-2 lead. The home team kept up the pressure, outscoring the Redhawks 9-4 to establish a double-digit advantage and cruising to the fourth set victory, with Scott clinching the match on a kill.
Hays finished the night with 16 kills, two service aces, and seven digs, with Loerch and Scott each accumulating 11 kills during the match. Ciara Brown earned 26 assists and eight digs, Taylor Livoti collected 24 assists and six digs, and Hannah Walker led the Aggies in the back with 12 defensive digs.
Seattle U played well offensively, hitting .262 in the match, the second-highest hitting percentage for the Redhawks in a conference match this season. However, the Redhawks hurt themselves by making seven serving errors and nine reception errors, plus Seattle U earned only one block the entire match, as New Mexico State was able to hit .333 for the match.
Seattle University (7-17, 2-12 WAC) returns home for a few days before heading back out on the road next weekend, traveling to Moscow, Idaho, for a match against the Idaho Vandals Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. The Redhawks will then play their final two home matches of the season the following weekend against UT Arlington (Nov. 8) and Louisiana Tech (Nov. 10).