The Seattle University volleyball team could not cut down on its mistakes Saturday, losing to Gonzaga, 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-17), and UNLV, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-20), during the second and final day of the Gonzaga Invitational at the Martin Centre.
“It was good to get Matea (Mamic) into the matches today to get her rhythm going. Against UNLV, our block started out well. As a team, we need to keep working hard and following our game plan,” Seattle U head volleyball coach James Finley said.
Gonzaga 3, Seattle U 0
Gonzaga (2-3) jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first set, but kills by Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) and Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) helped the Redhawks close their deficit to one at 6-5. The Bulldogs scored five unanswered points to extend their lead back to six at 11-5, and then another four straight points for the home team put the score at 20-11 in Gonzaga’s favor. After kills by Farley and Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) held off set point, McKayla Ferris clinched the first set for the Bulldogs with a kill.
The Bulldogs scored the first three points of the second set before Ivanis notched a kill and a service ace to put the Redhawks on the board. A kill by Farley and two Gonzaga attack errors gave Seattle U the lead, but the Bulldogs would go on an 8-2 scoring run to pull ahead, 17-12. Two kills by Mamic late in the set closed the Redhawk deficit to two at 24-22, but Ferris once again notched the set-clinching kill to give Gonzaga a 2-0 match lead.
Back-to-back kills by Farley gave Seattle U a 5-3 lead in the third set, but a 7-1 scoring run from the Bulldogs, including two kills by Imani Wimbush, allowed Gonzaga to pull ahead, 10-6. The Redhawks closed to within one at 14-13, but Gonzaga would end the set and the match on an 11-4 scoring run, with Ferris earning a kill and a service ace before Kalistina Takau closed out the match with a kill.
Mamic led the Redhawks with a season-high 10 kills, while Ivanis finished with eight kills and Farley contributed seven kills on a .400 hitting percentage and two total blocks. Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) dished out 23 assists, while McKenzie Daniels (Edmonds, Wash.) led from the backline with seven digs and Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) collected six digs in the match.
Savannah Blinn collected 11 kills and Ferris finished with 10 kills, with both players also notching a .450 hitting percentage and two service aces apiece. The setting duties were split between Janelle Futch (18 assists) and Lauren Joseph (15 assists), and Kathleen Wright led all players with 13 defensive digs.
UNLV 3, Seattle U 0
In the first set of Seattle U’s second match of the day, the Redhawks scored four straight points to take an early 6-3 lead, but the Rebels pulled into a 6-6 tie with three unanswered points. Back-to-back kills by Ivanis put Seattle U back on top, but UNLV answered with three straight points of its own. The Rebels closed out the set with three unanswered points, clinching the opening set with a block by Sadie Stutzman and Stephanie Thelen.
The second set started out with the two teams exchanging points until UNLV scored three straight points to take an 8-6 lead. Seattle U used a block and a kill each from Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.) and Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) to go on a 5-1 run to pull ahead, 11-9. An 11-4 UNLV run gave the Rebels a significant lead, and although Seattle U attempted to come from behind late in the set, a Redhawk service error gave the second set to UNLV.
UNLV (3-3) went on a 6-0 run early in the third set thanks to consecutive kills by Ceannia Kincade and three straight Redhawk attack errors. Back-to-back kills by Mamic and Stoll pulled the Redhawks to within two at 11-9, but the Rebels went on an 8-2 scoring run to open an eight-point advantage. A kill and a block assist from Mamic pulled the Redhawks to within five at 22-17, but UNLV finished off the set and the match with a block from Thelen and Katlin Winters.
Mamic, Goodrie, and Farley, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, each finished with six kills and three block assists in the match, with Goodrie adding a solo block to her total. Stoll contributed five kills and four block assists, Lane collected 25 assists and four digs during the match, and Daniels once again led the back line with six defensive digs.
Kincade notched a double-double for the Rebels with 12 kills and 10 digs, plus she posted a .400 hitting percentage, while Daryn Glenn added nine kills, eight digs, and three total blocks. Thelen dished out 34 assists in the match as UNLV hit .213 as a team while holding the Redhawks to a .102 hitting percentage.
Seattle University (2-6) will spend Sunday at home before hitting the road again Monday morning for its trip to Eugene, Ore., to face the nationally-ranked Oregon Ducks Tuesday, Sept. 10, starting at 7 p.m. Krista Blunk and Kelli Tennant will call the match live on Pac-12 Network, which can be found on channels 430 (Washington), 431 (National), and 628 (HD) for Comcast subscribers, channels 123 (Washington), 124 (National), 723 (Washington HD), and 724 (National HD) for Wave Broadband subscribers, or channel 413 (National HD) for those who use Dish Network.