After taking a 2-1 match lead and struggling in the fourth set, Seattle University held off four straight match points and then, on its fourth attempt, finally closed out the match, defeating Utah Valley, 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-25, 19-17), Thursday night in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, hosted by CSU Bakersfield at the Icardo Center.
Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) led the Redhawks with 19 kills and a .531 hitting percentage, plus she earned seven total blocks, while Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) notched her second double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs. Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) finished with 10 kills, two service aces, and nine digs and Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.) contributed eight kills and a team-high eight total blocks. Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) collected 51 assists and six digs, and Mary Orbeta (Alameda, Calif.) paced the backline with 14 defensive digs.
The teams split the first 10 points of the fifth set before consecutive Redhawk blocks gave Seattle U a 7-5 lead. After a kill by Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) tied the set at 9-9, Utah Valley scored five of the next six points, including two kills by Macky Treanor and a service ace from Jen Hardman, to give the Wolverines a 14-10 lead and four chances to close out the match.
Vujcin picked up a kill and then went back to serve, forcing the Wolverines to play out of system several times, while Samadan earned three kills to extend the match and eventually give Seattle U its first chance to win the contest. The teams traded points until it was 17-17, when kills by Mamic and Goodrie clinched the set and the match for the Redhawks.
“I’m very excited for and proud of this team. They showed a lot of grit tonight, and they continued to work hard,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “We had confidence from previous matches that we could come back when we were down in the fifth set, and we dug deep. Everyone came through at the right time, but special mention goes to Kerry, who gave our hitters phenomenal sets in the final set, enabling us to close it out.”
After Utah Valley took an early 4-2 lead in the opening set, Seattle U scored four unanswered points, including kills by Samadan and Vujcin, to pull ahead, 6-4. The Wolverines responded with four straight points of their own on three kills and a block by Kiahna Steiner and Lauren Bakker. Utah Valley pulled away thanks to a 6-1 run, including two service aces by Hardman, and the Wolverines would clinch the set on a Redhawk service error.
In the second set, back-to-back kills by Bakker gave Utah Valley a 4-2 lead, but Seattle U would use a block and a kill by Samadan as well as consecutive kills from Mamic to pull ahead, 7-5. The Wolverines went on a 7-1 scoring run, featuring two kills and a block assist by Bakker, to take a 15-11 advantage, but the Redhawks fought back, scoring five of the next six points to tie the set at 16-16.
A kill by Madison Wolford allowed Utah Valley to retake the lead at 19-17, but Seattle U rallied with a 5-1 scoring run, capped by a block from Stoll and Goodrie, to jump on top, 22-20. Consecutive kills by Vujcin gave the Redhawks set point and, after kills by Bakker and Treanor extended the set, Samadan clinched the set for Seattle U with a kill, tying the match at one set apiece.
The third set was the Samadan show, as she finished with seven kills and two blocks to give the Redhawks a 2-1 lead in the match. After a kill by Steiner brought the Wolverines to within one at 12-11, Seattle U rattled off five straight points, featuring back-to-back service aces by Vujcin. Seattle U scored the final three points of the set on a kill by Samadan, a Wolverine attack error, and a kill from Vujcin.
Utah Valley (14-18) scored the first three points of the fourth set, including a block assist and a kill by Treanor, but Seattle U scored the next three points, the last two on consecutive service aces from Stoll. With the set tied at 10-10, the Wolverines rattled off seven straight points, with Treanor earning two kills and two block assists. Utah Valley finished off the set with a kill by Wolford, extending the match into a deciding fifth set.
Treanor led the Wolverines with 17 kills, while Bakker finished with 14 kills, a .429 hitting percentage, and nine block assists. Utah Valley was consistent throughout the match, hitting .221, while Seattle U had a hitting percentage at .375 or higher in the three sets it won and at .107 or lower in the two losing sets, finishing at .226. Each team collected 13 blocks and were relatively even in the service game, but the Redhawks finished with more digs than the Wolverines (54-42), helping Seattle U pull out the match.
This is the second straight year that Seattle U has defeated Utah Valley in the first round of the WAC Volleyball Tournament, with both matches going five sets. Of the six times the Redhawks and Wolverines have faced each other over the past two years as conference rivals, four of the matches have gone the distance, with Seattle U winning three of the five-set contests.
Seattle University (13-15) faces regular season conference champion Missouri-Kansas City in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament Friday, Nov. 21, starting at 7:30 p.m. The Redhawks lost both matches to the Kangaroos during the regular season in four sets. The match will be streamed online by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/watch).