The Seattle University volleyball team played with one of the hottest teams in the country, but the UMKC Kangaroos were able to break away after the intermission for a 3-1 victory (25-17, 14-25, 25-19, 25-17) Saturday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference match at the Swinney Recreation Center.
Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) tied her career high, leading all players with 15 kills, plus she posted her best hitting percentage in a single match at .448. Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) notched a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs, Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.) came off the bench and contributed seven kills and three total blocks, and Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) finished with seven kills, two service aces, four digs, and nine total blocks.
“We blocked well at times and our middles did not make an attack error, but we were too inconsistent. UMKC had a great game plan, and they stuck with it. They played well in the fourth set to prevent us from putting together a comeback. We have work to do, but it will be nice to play in front of our home crowd over the next couple of weeks,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said.
UMKC (15-3, 4-0 WAC) jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the opening set, led by Melissa Hartsel with two kills. The Kangaroos would extend their lead thanks to a 7-1 scoring run, with Sydney Crimmins earning two kills and a block assist. Seattle U fought back with its own 7-2 scoring run, with Samadan earning three blocks and a service ace, but UMKC held on, as Skyler Muff clinched the opening set with a kill.
The Kangaroos maintained their momentum early in the second set, with a kill and a service ace by Muff surrounding consecutive kills by Taylor Buhrow to give UMKC a 7-3 lead. The Redhawks responded with a 5-1 scoring run, with Samadan contributing to a triple block and then earning back-to-back kills. After UMKC regained the lead at 11-10 on a kill by Buhrow, Seattle U closed out the set on a 15-3 scoring run, with Samadan playing a role in four blocks and Ivanis clinching the set with her third kill of the second set.
In the third set, UMKC put together a 7-2 scoring run, led by two kills and two block assists by Hartsel, to take a 14-9 lead. Seattle U scored five of the next six points to close its deficit to one, but the Kangaroos responded with five unanswered points, including two kills by Crimmins, to extend their advantage to 20-14. UMKC closed out the third set with kills by Muff and Kaylyn Brandt.
The Kangaroos took control of the fourth set by scoring five unanswered points, starting with a block and a kill by Emma Hagedorn, to take an 11-6 lead. Seattle U went on a 7-2 scoring run to pull into a 13-13 tie, led by three kills from Goodrie, but UMKC used an 8-1 scoring run, led by Crimmins and Buhrow with three kills apiece, to pull ahead, 22-15. Hagedorn would earn consecutive kills to close out the set and the match in UMKC’s favor.
Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) also collected seven kills to go along with three block assists, while setter Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) finished with 40 assists, six digs, and three total blocks. Shelby Babcock (Chandler, Ariz.) led the Redhawk defense with 14 digs.
Crimmins notched a double-double for UMKC with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Hagedorn also collected 13 kills in the match. Brandt earned 19 assists, two kills, and nine digs, while Nicole Wemhoff also earned nine digs to go along with 29 assists. UMKC libero Taryn Miller led all players with 17 defensive digs.
Seattle University (7-11, 3-2 WAC) returns home to begin a three-match homestand Thursday, Oct. 16, against the Bakersfield Roadrunners starting at 6 p.m. The match is scheduled to be available through the WAC Digital Network, with live stats found on GoSeattleU.com.