STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD: Just a few days after playing its last WAC regular season contest in Bakersfield, Seattle University returns to the city for the 2014 Western Athletic Conference Tournament. For the second straight year, the Redhawks will face Utah Valley in the first round of the WAC Tournament Thursday night. A Seattle U victory sends the Redhawks to the semifinals Friday, where they will face regular season champion UMKC. Another win moves Seattle U into Saturday’s championship match against New Mexico State, Bakersfield, or Texas-Pan American. The winner of the WAC Volleyball Tournament receives the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament.
LAST WEEK: Seattle University earned a split on its final WAC road weekend of the season, coming from a 2-1 match deficit to defeat Grand Canyon in five sets (22-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11) before losing to Bakersfield in three close sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-21). Against the Antelopes, Matea Mamic earned a career-high 18 kills, while Martina Samadan finished with 15 kills and two solo blocks. Jelena Vujcin came off the bench and contributed 11 kills, setter Kerry Lane notched a double-double with a season-high 57 assists along with 12 digs, and libero Mary Orbeta finished with 21 digs, the most by a Redhawk player in a single match this season. Saturday, the Redhawks were ahead in the first set 23-21 before Bakersfield scored the final four points of the opening set. Seattle U had its chances in the other two sets as well. Mamic once again led the Redhawks with 11 kills, with Vujcin earning eight kills and Lane collecting 30 assists, two service aces, five digs, and two total blocks.
WAC DIGITAL NETWORK: The entire WAC Volleyball Tournament, including all matches Seattle University are involved in, is scheduled to be broadcast live online by the WAC Digital Network. To access the live stream, visit this website: http://www.wacsports.com/watch.
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY: The Wolverines finished the conference regular season tied with the Redhawks for fourth place in the league standings at 8-6, part of a 14-17 overall record. Utah Valley earned the fourth seed thanks to its victory over WAC regular season champion UMKC less than two weeks ago. Utah Valley has won five of its last seven matches, including a 3-0 victory over Grand Canyon last Saturday. As a team, the Wolverines are hitting .215 and averaging 12.36 kills, 1.34 service aces, 12.48 digs, and 2.21 blocks per set. Macky Treanor leads the team with 314 kills, plus she is second on the squad with 24 service aces, while Lauren Bakker has earned 293 kills, a .348 hitting percentage, and 136 total blocks. The setting duties have been split between Sierra Stanley (6.64 assists per set) and Jen Hardman (5.54 assists per set). McKenna Tait leads Utah Valley with 48 service aces and 545 defensive digs.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: Seattle U and Utah Valley split their regular season matches, with each team winning on its home court. On Sept. 27 in Orem, Utah, Utah Valley held on for a 3-2 victory over Seattle U (26-24, 21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-12). Kalani Norris led the Wolverines with 15 kills, while Iris Ivanis notched a double-double for the Redhawks with 17 kills and 13 digs. Seattle U finished with more kills (61-55), a higher hitting percemtage (.236-.196), and more team blocks (14.0-9.5), but 19 service errors proved to be costly for Seattle U. Back in Seattle on Oct. 25, the Redhawks recovered from a slow start for a 3-1 victory over the Wolverines (22-25, 25-9, 25-16, 25-21). Martina Samadan led Seattle U with 15 kills, five service aces, and nine total blocks, while Ivanis earned another double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs. Norris led Utah Valley with 11 kills, but the Redhawks held the Wolverines to a .111 hitting percentage thanks in part to 15 team blocks.