Seattle University needed to force a fifth set against a team with lots of experience playing five-set matches, but the Redhawks pulled away late in the deciding set to defeat Grand Canyon University, 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11), Thursday evening at the Antelope Gymnasium.
Down two sets to one, Seattle U took the early 6-2 lead in the fourth set, thanks in part to two kills by Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.), and then extended it to 11-4 with Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) collecting consecutive kills. Two kills and a block assist by Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) gave the Redhawks a 20-12 lead, but the Antelopes scored three straight points to close to within five at 20-15. Seattle U settled down, and Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) earned a kill to clinch the set for the Redhawks and force a deciding set, Grand Canyon’s 11th five-set match of the season.
In the fifth set, kills by Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) and Ivanis helped Seattle U take an early 5-3 lead, but after the two teams traded the next 10 points, a Redhawk service error and a service ace from Natalie Tardy tied the set at 10-10. Seattle U scored five of the final six points of the match, with Mamic earning two kills, including one on match point.
Mamic finished with a career-high 18 kills, plus she collected eight digs, while Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) finished with 15 kills, a .393 hitting percentage, and two solo blocks. Vujcin contributed 11 kills off the bench, Stoll earned nine kills, two service aces, and four total blocks, and Lane notched her fourth double-double of the season with a season-high 57 assists to go along with 12 digs.
Grand Canyon (17-10, 6-7 WAC) scored five of the first six points of the match, punctuated by a block by Shannon Dugan. Seattle U responded with a 6-2 scoring run, featuring back-to-back kills by Stoll, to tie the set at 10-10, but the Antelopes scored five of the next seven points, including two kills by Dugan, to retake the lead 15-12.
The Redhawks scored five unanswered points, starting with a kill and a solo block by Samadan, to pull ahead, 17-15. After a kill by Mamic gave Seattle U a 21-20 lead, Grand Canyon rallied to take the first set by scoring five of the final six points, all of those points coming on Redhawk errors.
Two kills by Tardy gave Grand Canyon a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Seattle U answered with a 5-1 scoring run, led by Samadan with a kill and a solo block. The Antelopes put together their own 5-1 run, thanks in part to a kill by Tardy and a block from Gracie Dimond, to take a 12-9 lead, but another 5-1 run by the Redhawks, including two kills by Vujcin off the bench, put Seattle U back on top, 14-13.
Down 20-19, Seattle U would rally to win the second set thanks to a 6-2 scoring run to close it out, starting and ending with kills by Stoll. Mamic would also earn two kills during the set-deciding run as the Redhawks evened the match at one set apiece heading into the intermission.
The Antelopes scored the first three points of the third set and never looked back, going on a 7-2 scoring run, including two service aces by Hannah Hankins, to extend their advantage to 16-7. Samadan earned consecutive kills as Seattle U closed to within six at 18-12, and Mamic later earned back-to-back kills to cut the Antelope lead to four at 22-18, but Grand Canyon scored the final three points of the set, punctuated by a kill from Tardy, to win the set and take a 2-1 match lead.
Defensively, Seattle U earned 66 digs, led by libero Mary Orbeta (Alameda, Calif.) with a career-high 21 digs, the most by any Redhawk in a match this season. Ivanis also posted a career high with 15 digs to go along with nine kills, and Kirstin Schauble (Meadow Vista, Calif.) added seven digs along with two service aces to the winning effort.
Tardy led Grand Canyon with 17 kills, followed closely by Dugan with 16 kills along with 11 digs and four total blocks. Antelope setter Michelle Steagall finished with 38 assists and nine digs, and libero Mackenzie Phelps led her team with 14 digs to go along with five assists and two service aces.
With the victory, Seattle U clinches a winning conference record for the second consecutive season, the first time the Redhawks have posted a conference mark above .500 in back-to-back seasons since a stretch of five straight years in the Division II GNAC from 2002 through 2006. The Redhawks also won their third five-set match in four tries in 2014 while snapping Grand Canyon’s five-match winning streak and four-match winning streak in five-set matches.
Seattle University (12-14, 8-5 WAC) closes out the conference regular season by traveling to Bakersfield, Calif., to face the Roadrunners Saturday, Nov. 15, starting at 1 p.m. The match will be carried live by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/watch).