The Seattle University volleyball team dominated the first set, but CSU Bakersfield came right back and took the next three sets for a 3-1 victory (13-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-18) Thursday night in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both squads at the Connolly Center.
Star Tucker-Campbell notched a kill and a service ace as Bakersfield scored three of the first four points of the match, but the Redhawks responded with a 13-2 scoring run to pull ahead, 14-5. A service ace by Lisa Bartsch pulled the Roadrunners to within seven at 20-13, but Seattle U won the final five points of the opening set, the last two on a kill by Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) and a service ace by Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia), her third ace in the set.
Back-to-back kills by Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.) and Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) opened the second set as Seattle U took a 5-1 lead, but Bakersfield would score six of the next seven points, led by two kills and a block assist by Debora Araujo as well as a block assist and an ace from Tucker-Campbell, to pull ahead, 7-6. The two teams basically traded points until the Roadrunners scored six unanswered points, including two more service aces from Tucker-Campbell. Sara Little notched the set-clinching kill, tying the match at one set apiece.
Bakersfield (8-6, 1-0 WAC) used a block by Little and Tucker-Campbell to take a 7-4 lead in the third set before the Redhawks scored three straight points to tie the set. In a set that featured 11 ties and four lead changes, consecutive kills by Kelsee Sawyer and Araujo gave the Roadrunners a 21-18 advantage, and Araujo would close out the set with back-to-back kills to give Bakersfield the 2-1 match lead.
Seattle U went ahead by as much as three points early in the fourth set, but Bakersfield went on an 8-1 scoring run, punctuated by a service ace from Fernanda Goncalves and a block by Sawyer and Molly O’Hagan, to pull ahead, 16-12. A kill by Mamic closed the Redhawk deficit to two at 16-14, but the Roadrunners finished off the set and the match with a 9-4 scoring run, capped by a kill from Julia Bowen.
“I think in the first set, we played like we should, as our offense kept the pressure on the other team. We are still trying to deal with adversity, as when one player is not playing well, someone else needs to step in and perform. When we become more consistent with that, we will have more wins,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said.
In her first full match back from injury, Samadan collected 11 kills in 14 attempts for a .786 hitting percentage, but she was forced to leave the match in the third set after hurting her ankle while coming down from a block attempt. Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) nearly earned another double-double with 10 kills and nine digs, while Mamic finished with eight kills, three service aces, and three digs, and Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) led the Redhawks with 10 digs.
Araujo led the Roadrunners with 15 kills, plus she earned seven digs, while Sawyer contributed 10 kills, O’Hagan collected eight kills, and Tucker-Campbell finished with six kills, five service aces, and three block assists. Goncalves became the team’s main setter late in the match, accumulating 31 assists, three kills, two service aces, and nine digs, and Mariah Alvidrez led all players with 14 defensive digs.
Seattle University (3-13, 0-1 WAC) hosts Utah Valley Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Connolly Center starting at 7 p.m., with the Wolverines coming off a come-from-behind five-set victory over Idaho. Live stats and live video for Saturday’s contest will be available on GoSeattleU.com.