The Seattle University volleyball team once again received contributions from several different players Saturday night as the Redhawks completed a perfect four-match homestand with a 3-0 victory (25-14, 29-27, 27-25) over Kansas City in Western Athletic Conference action at the Connolly Center.
A kill and a block by Emma Hagedorn helped Kansas City take a 4-2 lead in the first set, but the Redhawks responded with an 11-1 scoring run, led by Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) with two kills and a service ace. Seattle U would close out the set on a 7-3 scoring run, punctuated by a kill from Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia).
UMKC (10-10, 4-4 WAC) once again took a 4-2 lead in the second set, and again the Redhawks responded with an 11-4 scoring run, helped by a kill and two service aces from Samadan, to pull ahead, 13-8. Still down by four at 23-19, Kansas City scored six of the next seven points, with a block by Skyler Muff and Chloe Jarema setting up set point for the Kangaroos. Samadan notched a kill to hold off UMKC, and the visitors would make four attack errors down the stretch to give Seattle U the set and the 2-0 match lead.
Unlike the first two sets, the Kangaroos were able to maintain their small advantage later into the third set, taking a 15-12 lead on back-to-back kills by Jessica Hendin. Two kills and a block assist from Samadan led the Redhawks back into the set, and the two teams proceeded to trade points. A kill by Jarema gave UMKC a chance to win the set, but Jaeckel held off the Kangaroos with a kill, and the senior would eventually clinch the set and the match with a service ace.
Jaeckel led the Redhawks with 14 kills and two service aces, while Samadan contributed 12 kills, two service aces, four digs, and seven total blocks. Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) notched her fifth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) added six kills and five total blocks to the winning effort. Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) collected 38 assists, two kills, and eight digs, and Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) ended up with 14 digs and seven assists.
“Kansas City is a great team, and they fought us all the way tonight,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “Sarah stepped up once again, Martina hit .750 in the third set, Iris earned another double-double, and Allison helped us with the block on the right side. It was a great team effort, and they showed a lot of composure in this match.”
Hendin led UMKC with 10 kills, while Sydney Crimmins earned eight kills and four block assists. Defensively, Muff led the team at the net with six total blocks, and libero Taryn Miller patrolled the backline to the tune of 14 defensive digs. Kansas City was held to a .083 hitting percentage, but did earn 10 team blocks to stay in the match.
With the win plus New Mexico State’s 3-0 loss to Utah Valley, Seattle U has moved into a tie for first place in the WAC standings with the Wolverines. Having already surpassed their conference win total earlier in the homestand, the Redhawks clinched a better overall record with Saturday’s win, the eighth in their last 10 matches over the past month.
Seattle University (10-14, 7-2 WAC) hits the road for a key weekend, facing Bakersfield Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. and Utah Valley Saturday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. Pacific time. The Redhawks return for their final regular season home matches the following weekend against Texas-Pan American (Oct. 31) and New Mexico State (Nov. 2), with both matches starting at 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center.