The Seattle University volleyball team proved that it could play with a major conference opponent, but Oregon State was able to hold off the Redhawks for a 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-22, 26-24) Saturday night in the sixth and final match of the Redhawk Invitational, giving the Beavers the tournament title.
Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) led the Redhawks with eight kills, plus she posted a .316 hitting percentage and collected nine digs. Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) came on in the third set and contributed six kills and two service aces, while Shelby Babcock (Chandler, Ariz.) led the team in the back with 11 defensive digs.
“I am really happy with the fact that we have improved in every match this year. We are playing tough competition, pushing ourselves to get where we want to be,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “We did not block as well as we have recently. After some early chaos, we calmed down and passed the ball well. Iris had a solid match tonight, something we have been waiting for this season. We are still learning to handle the pressure, and this will help us prepare to play Washington Thursday.”
Oregon State (6-0) jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set, led by Laura Schaudt with three kills. A service ace by Babcock and a kill from Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) closed the Redhawk deficit to one, but the Beavers answered with five unanswered points, including back-to-back service aces by Mary-Kate Marshall. A couple of Oregon State attack errors allowed Seattle U to draw to within one at 19-18, but the Beavers won six of the final eight points of the set, with Schaudt finishing the opening set with a kill.
Seattle U took a 10-8 lead in the second set thanks in part to two kills by Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.), but Oregon State went on a 7-1 scoring run, led by two kills from Schaudt, to pull ahead, 15-11. Ivanis earned a block, a kill, and a service ace to help the Redhawks tie the set, 16-16, but the Beavers scored three straight points on Redhawk errors to retake the lead. With two kills, Marshall scored Oregon State’s final two points of the set to give the visitors a 2-0 match lead.
The Redhawks opened the third set with a triple block, a kill by Stoll, and a service ace by Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.), eventually taking an early six-point lead at 9-3. Oregon State slowly whittled its deficit down, tying the set at 15-15 on consecutive kills by Katelyn Driscoll. A kill by Ivanis and a service ace from Vujcin allowed the Redhawks to retake the lead, but the Beavers fought back again with kills by Arica Nassar and Driscoll.
Two kills by Vujcin and a service ace from Samadan gave Seattle U a three-point advantage, but Marshall earned two kills and a block assist to tie the set at 23-23, and Darby Reeder earned an unlikely kill to bring about match point. Ivanis held off the Beavers with a kill, but Marshall closed out the set and the match with a kill and a service ace.
Driscoll was named tournament MVP, earning 10 kills and a .529 hitting percentage against the Redhawks. Schaudt, the team leader in kills on the night with 11, and Marshall, finishing the match with 10 kills and three service aces, were also named to the all-tournament team, as was Samadan, who collected four kills, two service aces, and two blocks against Oregon State, but finished the weekend with 23 kills, a .347 hitting percentage, five service aces, seven digs, and 21 total blocks.
Oregon State was perfect during the tournament, coming off Friday’s victory over Pacific with a 3-0 win (25-14, 25-18, 25-10) over Lafayette College Saturday morning. The Pacific Tigers finished second in the Redhawk Invitational, completing the weekend with a 3-0 victory (25-9, 25-8, 25-16) over the Leopards Saturday afternoon. The Tigers were represented by Lexi Elman and Katrin Gotterba on the all-tournament team, while Jet Manzi of Lafayette was also recognized.
Seattle University (2-4) remains home for another weekend, making the short trip to Alaska Airlines Arena to take on nationally-ranked Washington Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. to begin the SU/UW Tournament. The Redhawks host UNLV Friday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m. and UC Davis Saturday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center.