Thanks to an impressive offensive performance by Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) as well as the best match of the season from 2013 WAC Freshman of the Year Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia), Seattle University was able to rally from a 2-1 match deficit to defeat Eastern Washington, 3-2 (17-25, 25-13, 15-25, 25-17, 15-11), Tuesday night at Reese Court.
In the fifth set, three straight kills by Samadan gave Seattle U a 4-1 lead, but the Eagles would close their deficit to one on two different occasions. Ahead 8-6, the Redhawks scored four of the next five points thanks in part to a service ace by Mary Orbeta (Alameda, Calif.) and a kill from Ivanis. Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) notched the final kill to give the Redhawks the come-from-behind victory as they went 10-for-15 without an attack error in the final set, a single-set season high hitting percentage of .667.
Samadan finished the match with 19 kills, tying the career high she established last season against Grand Canyon, as well as a .471 hitting percentage, two service aces, and four total blocks. For the junior, 12 of those kills came in the final two sets. Ivanis, starting on the right side for the first time this season, notched her first double-double of the season and the seventh of her career, collecting a season-high 16 kills and a career-high 13 digs, hitting .387 for the match.
Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Croatia) gave the Redhawks a major lift in the final two sets, earning seven kills in nine attack attempts, while Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) finished with five kills and four total blocks. Lane dished out 49 assists to go along with three kills and six digs, Sydney Schafer (Salt Lake City, Utah) contributed five kills on a .364 hitting percentage in her first career start, and Shelby Babcock (Chandler, Ariz.) and Kirstin Schauble (Meadow Vista, Calif.) combined for 22 digs, six assists, and two service aces from the backline.
“This was a great effort from a team that really needed a win tonight,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “Both teams played amazing volleyball at the end of the match, but we were able to avoid mistakes in the final set. Our offense finally kicked into gear, and the changes we made both before and during the match seemed to pay off. This gives us great confidence heading into the rest of the week.”
Eastern Washington (4-6) went on a 6-1 scoring run to open an 11-7 lead early in the first set, and then the Eagles extended that lead with a 9-3 scoring run, led by Kelsey Julian with two kills. The Redhawks battled back with three straight points, starting with back-to-back kills from Schafer and Ivanis, but Eastern Washington closed out the opening set by scoring the final four points in a row, led by Julian with two more kills.
Seattle U went on an 8-1 run early in the second set to pull ahead, 10-3, led by two kills from Ivanis. The Redhawks maintained that lead before breaking away, closing out the set with a 9-3 scoring run, led by two kills apiece from Samadan and Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia), to even the match at one set apiece. Seattle U made only one service error in the second set in posting a .583 hitting percentage, at the time the highest single-set hitting percentage this season.
The third set went back-and-forth until Eastern Washington scored four straight points, thanks in part to a kill and a block assist each from Kellen Barfield and Julian. After a kill by Samadan, the Eagles went on an 8-1 run, helped by four attack errors from the Redhawks, to extend their lead to 18-8. Seattle U fought back late in the set with kills by Schafer and Lane as well as a service ace from Schauble, but Sophie Miller notched a kill and a service ace of her own, and Barfield closed out the set with a kill to give the Eagles a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth set, two early service aces by Ana Jakovljevic gave Eastern Washington an early 4-1 lead, but the Redhawks responded with an 8-2 scoring run, led by three straight kills from Samadan followed by three straight kills by Vujcin. Seattle U closed out the fourth set by outscoring the Eagles 7-2, led by Samadan with three kills and a block assist, to force the deciding fifth set.
Julian led all players with 20 kills, hitting .455 during the match, while Allie Schumacher earned 12 kills and Barfield added 10 kills. Miller nearly notched a triple-double, finishing with 33 assists, 10 digs, and eight kills, and Nicole Rigoni added 18 assists and five digs for the Eagles.
Amazingly, both teams ended up with the exact same offensive numbers, earning 60 kills and 19 attack errors in 128 attempts for a .320 hitting percentage, a season-best for Seattle U. The Redhawks doubled the Eagles in team blocks, 8-4, and enjoyed a slight advantage in defensive digs, 46-43, while each team collected five service aces during the match.
Seattle University (3-7) continues its road trip by heading to Missoula, Mont., for matches on consecutive nights. The Redhawks will face the Montana Grizzlies Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Pacific time) and the Gonzaga Bulldogs in a neutral-site contest Friday, Sept. 19, also at 7 p.m. Mountain time.