The Seattle University volleyball team nearly came from behind to force a deciding fifth set, but College of Charleston won the important points late in the fourth set to pull out a 3-1 victory (25-14, 25-18, 16-25, 25-22) in a neutral-site match at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach. Later Friday, the Redhawks lost to Loyola Marymount, 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-17), at Gersten Pavilion
College of Charleston 3, Seattle U 1
Down 2-0 in its first match of the day, Seattle U won the first six points of the third set, taking advantage of four errors by College of Charleston. The Cougars pulled to within two on kills by Sloane White and Melissa Morello, but consecutive kills by Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.) started a 10-3 Redhawk scoring run. Cara Howley notched two kills and a block assist to close the Cougar deficit to five at 18-13, but Seattle U closed out the set on a 7-3 scoring run, with Goodrie earning another kill to win the set.
The Redhawks scored five unanswered points early in the fourth set for a 9-4 lead, thanks in part to consecutive kills from Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia). Four Seattle U errors helped the Cougars pull into an 11-11 tie, and the two teams exchanged points for a while. Ivanis picked up two kills and a block assist as part of a 5-1 Redhawk run to put Seattle U on top, 19-16, but the Cougars closed out the set and the match with a 9-3 scoring run, with a kill by White accounting for the final point.
“We eliminated our errors in the third set, but in the fourth set we couldn’t handle some easy balls, and we made errors at the wrong time,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “We served more aggressively in this match, and I am happy with the performances of Alec and Allison, but now we need to put everything together and get a win.”
College of Charleston (8-0) dominated the first set, scoring six of the first seven points of the match and then scoring six unanswered points after the Redhawks had closed to within two at 8-6. College of Charleston scored the final four points of the set with two kills by Morello, a block from Howley, and the set-clinching kill from Kerstin Koehler.
Four straight errors by the Redhawks early in the second set gave the Cougars an 8-5 lead, but consecutive kills from Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) pulled Seattle U to within one at 11-10. The Cougars would score five straight points to extend their lead and finished off the second set with kills from White and Morello.
Ivanis finished the match with 10 kills, five service aces, six digs, and two block assists, while Goodrie also collected 10 kills and Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) contributed seven kills and three total blocks. Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) added six kills, Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) dished out 29 assists to go along with three kills and seven digs, and Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) also finished with seven defensive digs for the Redhawks.
White led the Cougars with 14 kills and a .650 hitting percentage, plus she earned four total blocks, while Darcy Dorton collected 11 kills and seven digs. Howley accumulated nine kills and four total blocks, and Morello led all players with 14 digs to go along with seven kills. As a team, College of Charleston hit .327 in the match and picked up 12 team blocks.
Loyola Marymount 3, Seattle U 0
Loyola Marymount (4-4) took the early 5-2 lead in the first set thanks in part to two kills by Litara Keil, and then the Lions scored four unanswered points later in the set to extend their lead to 12-6. Three kills by Felicia Arriola keyed a 7-2 LMU run, and the Lions closed out the first set with a block assist and a kill by Rachelle Suaava.
The Lions scored seven straight points early in the second set, with Arriola notching a kill and a service ace during the run. Loyola Marymount kept the pressure on the Redhawks, going on a 7-1 scoring run later in the set, but Seattle U fought back with three straight points thanks to kills by Ivanis and Mamic. The Lions would win the set on a Redhawk service error.
Seattle U scored three of the first four points of the third set thanks in part to two block assists from Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.), but LMU scored three of the next four points to tie the set at 4-4. The Redhawks scored five straight points, including two solo blocks by Farley, and a kill by Ivanis put Seattle U ahead, 11-7. The Lions answered with a 10-1 scoring run to take the lead for good, closing out the set and the match with a block by Hannah Tedrow and Amber Mirabello.
Mamic led the Redhawks offensively with six kills and a service ace, with Ivanis contributing five kills, five digs, and two block assists. Farley and Stoll had four total blocks apiece, and Beadle collected a season-high 16 defensive digs in the match.
For the Lions, Keil led the way with 12 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while Kathleen Luft contributed nine kills and nine digs and Arriola finished with eight kills, two service aces, and 10 digs. The setting duties were split between Ashley Maxfeldt (18 assists) and Tedrow (17 assists), and libero Betsi Metter became LMU’s all-time leader in digs with 16 digs during the match.
Seattle University (2-9) will head back to Walter Pyramid for a match against Long Beach State Saturday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. Links to live stats and live audio will be available from the volleyball schedule page on GoSeattleU.com.