SECOND CITY, THEN KANSAS CITY: After two victories at home last weekend, Seattle University leaves early Wednesday morning for its trip to the Midwest, taking on Chicago State Thursday night and Missouri-Kansas City Saturday afternoon. If UMKC defeats Utah Valley Thursday, the Redhawks will be facing a squad with a 3-0 conference mark for the second consecutive Saturday. Seattle U will be looking to maintain its momentum as it follows this road trip with a three-match homestand.
LAST WEEK: Seattle University won both conference matches over the weekend, sweeping Texas-Pan American 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-22) before defeating previous league leader New Mexico State in four sets (25-17, 19-25, 29-27, 25-21). Iris Ivanis led the Redhawks against UTPA with 15 kills, plus she collected eight digs and three total blocks, while Stephanie Stoll earned seven kills, a .462 hitting percentage, and eight total blocks. Setter Kerry Lane dished out 36 assists to go along with four kills, two service aces, four digs, and three block assists, and libero Shelby Babcock led Seattle U with 10 defensive digs. Saturday, the Redhawks ended New Mexico State’s 11-match WAC winning streak as they held the Aggies to a .169 hitting percentage thanks to 12 team blocks, plus hit .230 as a team offensively. Matea Mamic led Seattle U with 15 kills, followed closely by fellow Croatian Martina Samadan with 14 kills and freshman Jelena Vujcin with her first career double-double, collecting 13 kills and 10 digs. Stephanie Stoll again led the Redhawks at the net with seven total blocks, along with Kerry Lane, who also accumulated 41 assists, two kills, a service ace, and five digs. Mary Orbeta took over as the libero in the third set and earned eight digs over the final two sets.
SCOUTING CHICAGO STATE: The Cougars enter Thursday’s match with a 6-11 overall record, but an 0-3 league record after losing to Bakersfield and Grand Canyon last weekend. Chicago State is still looking for its first WAC victory since joining the conference last year, last winning a conference match as a member of the Great West Conference Nov. 12, 2011, at NJIT. As a team, the Cougars are hitting .133 and averaging 10.67 kills, 1.65 service aces, 12.02 digs, and 2.00 blocks per set. Elli Woinowsky leads the team with 167 total kills and 30 service aces, plus she is second on the squad with 139 digs. Sarah Metcalfe has been the main setter for the Cougars, collecting 450 assists so far this season, plus she has 19 service aces, as does Julia Menhart, who also leads the team with 209 digs. Essence Jackson-Jones leads the Cougars with 70 blocks.
SEATTLE U VS. CHICAGO STATE: The Redhawks swept the season series from the Cougars last season. On Oct. 17 in Seattle, Chicago State took the first set before Seattle U won the next three sets for a 3-1 victory (21-25, 25-18, 25-13, 26-24). Martina Samadan led the offense with 16 kills and a .600 hitting percentage, with Sarah Jaeckel and Iris Ivanis earning 12 kills apiece. One month later in Chicago, the Redhawks won the first two sets, lost the third one, but rallied to win the fourth set for another 3-1 victory (25-13, 27-25, 22-25, 25-17). Matea Mamic led the offense with 15 kills, with Stephanie Stoll earning 10 total blocks to go along with six kills.
SCOUTING KANSAS CITY: The Kangaroos are the hottest team in the WAC entering the weekend, winning nine matches in a row overall for a 13-3 record and sitting atop the league standings at 2-0 after wins over Grand Canyon and Bakersfield. As a team, Kansas City is hitting .209 and averaging 13.50 kills, 1.26 service aces, 18.42 digs (second in Division I), and 2.53 blocks per set. Jessica Hendin leads the team with 173 kills and 25 service aces, plus she is second on the squad with 213 digs. The setting duties have been split between Kaylyn Brandt (6.35 assists/set) and Nicole Wemhoff (4.62 assists/set). Defensively, Emma Hagedorn leads the team with 83 total blocks, and Taryn Miller leads the way with 390 defensive digs, currently third in Division I with 5.91 digs per set.
SEATTLE U VS. KANSAS CITY: Last year the teams split the season series, with each team winning on its home floor. On Oct. 19 at the Connolly Center, Seattle U swept UMKC, 3-0, thanks to 14 kills by Sarah Jaeckel, 12 kills and seven blocks from Martina Samadan, and 10 kills and 10 digs by Iris Ivanis. On Nov. 14 in Kansas City, the teams split the first two sets before the Kangaroos went on to a 3-1 victory. Jaeckel notched a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs to lead the Redhawks.