Based on the first three sets, it seemed that Seattle University and New Mexico State were on their way to a classic conference volleyball match, but the Aggies took control in the fourth set to defeat the Redhawks, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-13), Saturday night in Western Athletic Conference action at the Connolly Center.
New Mexico State (15-10, 10-2 WAC) took advantage of early Redhawk errors in the first set to pull ahead, 9-5, but three kills and a block assist by Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) allowed Seattle U to go on a 5-1 scoring run to pull into a 14-14 tie. The Aggies scored the next three points to regain the lead, but Ivanis started a 4-0 Redhawk stretch with a kill and a service ace. With the score tied at 23-23, the Redhawks won the set on kills by Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) and Ivanis.
The Aggies would go on an 8-2 run early in the second set, starting with a kill and a block assist by Desiree Scott, to take a 9-4 lead before the Redhawks went on a 10-2 scoring run, the first two points coming on kills by Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.). New Mexico State would tie the set at 15-15 on kills by Bradley Nash and Lauren Loerch, and the two teams would go down to the wire in the set. Once again the score was tied at 23-23, but this time the Aggies finished off the set, clinching it on a block by Scott, Loerch, and Nash to tie the match at one set apiece.
Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) notched four kills early in the third set as Seattle U established a three-point advantage. The Redhawks stayed ahead through most of the set until the Aggies scored four straight points down the stretch, including a kill and a block assist by Gwen Murphy, to reach set point at 24-21. Kills by Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) and Jaeckel, followed by a service ace from Ivanis, pulled the Redhawks into a 24-24 tie, but the Aggies won the set thanks to kills by Preslie Alexander and Nash.
Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) notched the first point of the fourth set with a kill, but the Aggies would score nine of the next 10 points, four of them on blocks all involving Loerch, to take a 9-2 advantage. Back-to-back service aces by Samadan closed the Redhawk deficit to four, and another kill by Farley later in the set brought Seattle U to within three at 14-11. However, the Aggies would close out the set and the match with an 11-2 scoring run, featuring three kills by Alexander and closing with a service ace from Taylor Livoti.
“Our team played very well in the first three sets, but we let the fourth set get away from us,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “We needed a few more digs defensively, and we struggled a little bit in the blocking department, but all-in-all a good team effort. We played this team better than we did the first time around, and maybe we will get another shot at them in the tournament. It’s great for our seniors that we can celebrate Senior Night without this being the last match of the season. We will continue to improve over the next few weeks heading into the tournament.”
Jaeckel led the Redhawks with a season-high 15 kills, plus she earned eight digs, while Ivanis finished with 14 kills, three service aces, four digs, and two block assists. Samadan contributed 10 kills, two service aces, and three total blocks, and Lane dished out 40 assists. Defensively, McKenzie Daniels (Edmonds, Wash.) led all players with 16 digs, while Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) added 13 digs.
Nash led the Aggies offensively with 13 kills, while Murphy earned 11 kills on 15 attack attempts with just one error for a .667 hitting percentage, plus she tied with Loerch and Scott with seven total blocks. Scott also finished with nine kills as the setting duties were split between Ciara Brown (27 assists) and Livoti (20 assists), and Stephanie Ziegler led the Aggies with 15 digs to go along with six kills and two block assists.
Neither team hit the ball well offensively in the first two sets, but in the third set both squads posted a hitting percentage above .400. The Aggies continued that pace in the fourth set while the Redhawks struggled again, earning more attack errors than kills. The service game belonged to Seattle U with seven aces versus one by the Aggies, but New Mexico State was a force at the net with 15 team blocks against Seattle U’s five team blocks.
Before the match, Senior Night ceremonies took place honoring the careers of Beadle, Farley, Jaeckel, and Karli Pedone (Granite Bay, Calif.).
Seattle University (11-17, 8-5 WAC) will play its final three regular season matches on the road, starting next Friday, Nov. 8, against Idaho starting at 7 p.m. The Redhawks will also travel to face UMKC (Nov. 14) and Chicago State (Nov. 16) before taking over a week to prepare for the WAC Volleyball Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., Nov. 25-27.