The Seattle University volleyball team rallied from a tough third-set loss to win the fourth set and extend its initial Western Athletic Conference match of the 2014 season, but Utah Valley University took the early lead in the deciding set and held on for a 3-2 victory (26-24, 21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-12) over the Redhawks Saturday afternoon in the PE Building.
Utah Valley (6-9, 1-0 WAC) looked to finish off the match in the fourth set, taking an early 8-3 lead thanks to two kills apiece from Kiahna Steiner and Madison Wolford. The Redhawks rallied with six unanswered points, featuring two kills from Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) as well as a block by Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) and Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia).
A kill and a block assist apiece by Steiner and Macky Treanor allowed the Wolverines to retake the lead by two points. The Redhawks closed out the set by outscoring Utah Valley 10-3, led by Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) with a kill, three service aces, and a block assist, as well as three kills from Mamic, to force a deciding fifth set.
The Wolverines dominated the early portion of the fifth set, earning eight of the first 10 points, including two kills by Treanor, to hold a six-point lead as the teams switched sides. The Redhawks went on a 5-1 scoring run, including two kills by Ivanis, to close their deficit to two, but that would be as close as Seattle U would get, as Utah Valley won the set and the match on a kill by Treanor.
Ivanis notched her second double-double of the season, finishing with a season-high 17 kills to go along with 13 defensive digs, tying her career high, plus she earned three service aces and four total blocks. Mamic earned 15 kills, a .364 hitting percentage, eight digs, two service aces, and three block assists, while Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) contributed 12 kills and six total blocks.
"When our team was working hard and following our game plan, I could see where we can be. We have to keep working hard to create more consistency," Seattle U head volleyball coach James Finley said.
Seattle U scored four of the first five points of the match, including two block assists by Stoll, but Utah Valley responded by scoring five unanswered points, led by two kills from Treanor and two service aces by Sierra Starley. The Redhawks went on a 5-1 scoring run to retake the lead, 16-14, but the Wolverines battled back, as a block assist and a kill by Kalani Norris helped the home team pull ahead, 22-19.
Seattle U went on another 5-1 scoring run, thanks in part to two kills by Stoll and service aces by Mamic and Shelby Babcock (Chandler, Ariz.), to bring about set point at 24-23. Utah Valley once again responded, scoring the final three points of the opening set on kills by Lauren Bakker and Norris as well as a service ace by Jen Hardman that clinched the first set for the Wolverines.
The Redhawks jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the second set, taking advantage of three service errors by Utah Valley as well as three blocks, all involving Vujcin. The Wolverines closed the gap to one at 11-10, but Seattle U went on a 12-5 scoring run to take its biggest lead of the set at 23-15. Utah Valley took advantage of several Redhawk errors to close its deficit to 24-21, but a kill by Mamic gave Seattle U the second set, tying the match at one set apiece.
Seattle U again took the early lead in the third set, establishing a 7-3 lead on a kill by Samadan and a service ace from Kirstin Schauble (Meadow Vista, Calif.). Down 16-10 after a block by Stoll and Ivanis, Utah Valley rattled off six unanswered points to pull into a 16-16 tie, led by a kill and a solo block from Bakker.
The Redhawks rebounded with three straight points, starting with a block by Samadan and Stoll followed by kills from Ivanis and Vujcin. Mamic twice brought about set point with kills, but the Wolverines responded with kills by Cassie Wahlin and Norris. Ivanis kept Seattle U in the set with a kill, but back-to-back attack errors gave the third set and the 2-1 match lead to the Wolverines.
Setter Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) dished out 56 assists plus earned nine digs, Stoll collected nine kills and seven total blocks, and Vujcin added eight kills, four digs, and five block assists. Babcock also earned 13 defensive digs in the match as Seattle U matched Utah Valley with 53 digs, plus collected 14 team blocks during the match while the Wolverines finished with 9.5 team blocks.
Norris led the Utah Valley offense with 15 kills, with Treanor collecting 11 kills to go along with seven digs and three block assists. The setting duties for the Wolverines were split between Jen Hardman (25 assists) and Starley (22 assists), with libero McKenna Tait adding five assists to go along with her match-high 27 digs.
Seattle U actually earned more kills (61-55) and hit at a higher percentage (.236-.196) than Utah Valley, but the Redhawks made 19 service errors, giving the Wolverines several free points at key times in the contest.
Seattle University (4-10, 0-1 WAC) returns to the Connolly Center for the first time in three weeks for a pair of conference matches next week, starting Thursday, Oct. 2, against the Texas-Pan American Broncs at 6 p.m. The Redhawks will then welcome preseason conference favorite New Mexico State for a matinee Saturday, Oct. 4, beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday night’s match is a RedOut, with all fans wearing red receiving a ticket for just $3, while Saturday is Jersey Day, with all kids ages 12 and under wearing a volleyball jersey earning free admission.