For the second straight night, Seattle University went the distance and more, finally defeating Missouri-Kansas City, 3-2 (16-25, 25-12, 26-24, 20-25, 16-14), Friday night to advance to the title match of the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, hosted by CSU Bakersfield at the Icardo Center.
With the victory, the fifth-seeded Redhawks will face the host Roadrunners, as the third seed defeated second seed New Mexico State earlier Friday, 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 26-24, 25-20). This will be the first time in WAC volleyball history that neither of the top two seeds will reach the tournament final.
Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) led the Redhawks with a career-high 20 kills, plus she earned 15 digs for her second consecutive double-double. Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) collected 13 kills and nine total blocks, with Sydney Schafer (Salt Lake City, Utah) making a significant contribution with nine kills, eight digs, and four total blocks. Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) again ran a solid offense, finishing with 50 assists to go along with three kills and eight digs, and the Redhawk backline defense was led by Mary Orbeta (Alameda, Calif.) with 15 digs and Kirstin Schauble (Meadow Vista, Calif.) with 14 digs.
“We played hard tonight, but so did Kansas City. They are a great team, but we were fortunate to make key plays down the stretch to earn the win. Matea was a great leader tonight, not just with her play, but the way she interacted with her teammates throughout the night. We also received key contributions when we needed them. I know the girls are excited about having a chance to win this thing tomorrow,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said.
In the fifth set, Seattle U took an early 5-3 lead on kills by Samadan and Mamic, but Missouri-Kansas City responded with a kill by Taylor Buhrow and a block by Buhrow and Emma Hagedorn. Samadan started and ended a 4-1 Redhawk run with kills, but the Kangaroos went on their own 4-1 run, capped by a kill and a block assist by Hagedorn, to tie the set at 14-14. Mamic earned a kill to set up match point, and then she joined with Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) for the clinching block.
Missouri-Kansas City (24-6) used a 10-2 run early in the opening set to open a seven-point lead, and the Kangaroos would continue to expand their lead until a kill by Sydney Crimmins gave UMKC set point at 24-10. The Redhawks would rattle off six straight points, led by two kills from Mamic, but UMKC finally won the first set on a kill by Buhrow.
Seattle U controlled the second set, starting with a 7-2 scoring run led by Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) with three kills to give the Redhawks a 12-6 lead. Seattle U would close out the second set on an 8-2 scoring run, led by Stoll with two kills and a service ace as well as Samadan with two blocks, to even the match at one set apiece.
Missouri-Kansas City took an early 8-4 lead in the third set thanks to three kills by Buhrow and would extend its advantage to 16-9 on a kill by Melissa Hartsel. The Redhawks responded with a 9-2 scoring run, led by two kills and two block assists by Schafer, to tie the set at 18-18. Two kills apiece by Hagedorn and Jessica Hendin gave UMKC set point, but Seattle U again fought off the loss with five unanswered points, including two blocks by Samadan and Vujcin as well as two kills by Samadan to close out the set in the Redhawks’ favor.
Kaylyn Brandt notched a service ace and a kill as UMKC scored four of the first five points of the fourth set, but two kills from Mamic, a kill by Vujcin, and a block by Stoll and Vujcin tied the set at 7-7. The Kangaroos scored four straight points to take a 12-9 lead, but Seattle U again rallied, as Schafer earned a kill and a block assist to tie the set at 14-14. UMKC went on a 7-1 run and then withstood five kills by Mamic down the stretch to win the fourth set and even the match, with Hagedorn and Hendin earning a block to force the deciding fifth set.
Buhrow led the Kangaroos with 14 kills, while Hendin notched a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs. Missouri-Kansas City was held to a .150 hitting percentage during the match and trailed the Redhawks in almost every statistical category.
Seattle University (14-15) will need to earn its first victory of 2014 over Bakersfield in order to win the WAC Tournament title and receive the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The match will begin at 5 p.m. and will be streamed online by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/watch).