After helping the Seattle University volleyball team move into a tie for first place in the league standings with a 3-0 week, sophomore Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, announced Monday by the conference office.
Samadan led the Redhawks with 4.27 kills and 1.36 blocks per set over the past week, plus she posted a .545 hitting percentage and added an assist, seven service aces, and nine digs. Monday, she collected 19 kills and a team-high six total blocks in the Redhawks’ 3-1 victory over Grand Canyon.
Thursday night against Chicago State, she once again paced the Redhawk offense, earning 16 kills on 25 attack attempts with just one error for a .600 hitting percentage, plus she collected four service aces during the contest. Two nights later, she finished with 12 kills, two service aces, and seven total blocks as Seattle U swept UMKC. In the third set, she went 6-for-8 in attacks without an error to lead the Redhawks to their fifth straight home victory.
Despite playing less than half of Seattle U’s sets this season, she has moved into third on the team in total kills with 126, averaging 3.6 kills per set and hitting .484 for the season. In WAC matches, she leads the conference with a .578 hitting percentage, is third in the league in points per set at 4.08, and is fifth in the conference in both kills (3.37 kills/set) and service aces (0.32 aces/set).
"Martina had an exceptional week. She played as a complete player, offensively and defensively. Our team all responds to the passion Martina brings to the game. Her play is contagious,” Seattle U head volleyball coach James Finley said.
This is the second consecutive week that a Seattle U player has received the conference’s weekly honor in volleyball, as Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) was named WAC Volleyball Player of the Week on Oct. 14.
The Seattle University volleyball team (10-14, 7-2 WAC) hits the road for a key weekend, facing Bakersfield (13-9, 5-3 WAC) Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. and Utah Valley (13-11, 7-2 WAC) 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.