The Seattle University volleyball team faced a battle from the UTPA Broncs the entire contest, but the Redhawks were able to pull out a 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-21, 25-20) Saturday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference contest at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) earned a career-high 17 kills to go along with eight digs, as she was the only player from either team to reach double figures in kills. Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) contributed eight kills, five digs, and four total blocks, and Sydney Schafer (Salt Lake City, Utah), earning the first start of her career, collected eight digs to help the Redhawk defense.
The first set was close throughout, although Seattle U did score three straight points, including a kill by Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.), to pull ahead, 11-8. A block by UTPA’s Corynn Acuff tied the set at 13-13, but the Redhawks responded with seven unanswered points, led by two kills and a block by Mamic, to regain the advantage, 20-13. The Broncs held off three SU set points, two times on kills by Haley Durham, but Samadan finally completed the set victory for the Redhawks with a kill.
Seattle U scored the first three points of the second set, but UTPA responded with three straight points of its own, and the second set would remain close the rest of the way. Kills by Anjane Janda sandwiched around a service ace from Mary Kate Clark gave the Broncs a 12-9 lead, but Seattle U went on a 7-3 scoring run, featuring two kills by Mamic, to pull ahead, 16-15. UTPA pulled to within one at 21-20, but Seattle U scored four of the final five points of the set, punctuated by a block by Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) and Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.).
The third set featured 15 ties and seven lead changes as neither team held a lead larger than two points until the very end. A block by Samadan and Goodrie as well as a kill by Vujcin gave Seattle U a 13-11 lead, but UTPA fought back thanks to kills by Clark and Marie Kliefoth as well as a service ace from Nausheen Merchant that put the Broncs ahead, 16-15. After a kill by Kliefoth tied the set at 19-19, the Redhawks closed out the set and the match by outscoring the Broncs 6-1, with Samadan earning two kills and a block assist.
“I am really proud of our team. We were above average in kills, digs, and blocks despite some players playing out of position today,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “I am thrilled with the overall performance of Matea today, as she played the entire match and passed the ball well for us. Martina picked it up after a slow start. It was a good group effort today.”
UTPA (5-20, 2-9 WAC) was led by Durham with eight kills and two block assists, with Merchant leading the Broncs defensively with eight digs. Seattle U hit .253 as a team and earned 10 team blocks as it held the Broncs to a .060 hitting percentage.
Seattle University (10-13, 6-4 WAC) plays its final home matches of the regular season next weekend, starting with a match against current WAC leader Missouri-Kansas City Thursday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. at the Connolly Center. The Redhawks then host Chicago State on Senior Day next Saturday, Nov. 8, starting at 1 p.m.