The Seattle University volleyball team improved its serving accuracy as the night went along and dominated defensively at the net throughout the match, but the Pacific Tigers were able to pull out a 3-1 victory over the Redhawks (25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21) Thursday night in the opening match of the Redhawk Invitational at the Connolly Center.
Down two sets to zero, Seattle U fell behind in the third set, 7-1, thanks in part to three kills by Pacific’s Lexi Elman. The Redhawks scored the next five points, starting with a kill by Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) and including a kill and block assist each from Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) and Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.).
Pacific (3-1) went on another 7-1 scoring run, with Elman and Anne-Sophie Bauer notching two kills apiece, to extend its lead to 14-7, but Seattle U rallied again, scoring six unanswered points, half of them on kills by Samadan. The Redhawks went on an 8-1 scoring run to close out the set, led by three block assists from Samadan as well as two block assists and two kills by Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia).
Seattle U earned five blocks early in the fourth set as it established an 11-4 lead, forcing Pacific to call both of its fourth-set timeouts. The Tigers finally settled down, scoring seven unanswered points, led by Kat Schulz with three kills and a block assist, to pull ahead, 15-14. After a kill by Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) tied the set, Pacific took the lead for good with four straight points, and Schulz closed out the set and the match with a kill.
Samadan notched a double-double with 14 kills and 10 total blocks, plus she hit .387 and earned two service aces, while Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) also finished with 14 kills, making just one attack error for a .419 hitting percentage. Goodrie collected eight block assists and five kills, Stoll earned six total blocks and five kills, and Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) accumulated 44 assists. Shelby Babcock (Chandler, Ariz.) led the backline with 16 digs, with Ivanis earning eight digs to go along with six kills.
“The thing I really like about our team is, after two sets in which we played well enough to win but we had too many service and hitting errors, they responded, making only three service errors in the next two sets. We were aggressive with our serve, which took them out of system and led to our 17 blocks,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “Matea was exceptional again, they did not have an answer for Martina, and the young kids came in and gave us some great plays. I was really happy with the overall effort, but we need to push through when we get the lead and finish out those sets and matches.”
The Tigers took the lead in the opening set thanks to a 6-1 scoring run, maintaining that advantage throughout the rest of the set. The second set was closer as it progressed to the midway point, but Pacific went on an 8-2 run to take control, and a kill by Schulz clinched the second set, giving the Tigers the 2-0 match lead.
Elman led all players with 17 kills, with Schulz contributing 14 kills and 10 defensive digs. Andie Shelton took over as the main setter midway through the contest, finishing with 23 assists and eight digs, and Tiger libero Katrin Gotterba caused issues for the Redhawks, earning 16 digs and three service aces during the match.
Seattle University (1-3) will face Lafayette College as the Redhawk Invitational continues Friday, Sept. 5, at the Connolly Center. The Redhawks will take on the Leopards at 7 p.m., after Pacific goes against Oregon State at 4 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for all matches on GoSeattleU.com.