Seattle University fought just as hard as they had the entire weekend to reach the title match of the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, but Bakersfield proved that it was the better team on Saturday, defeating the Redhawks 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) at the Icardo Center.
Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) led the Redhawks with 14 kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) contributed 11 kills and five digs for the Redhawks. Both Samadan and Mamic were named to the All-Tournament Team after the match.
“I am really pleased with our middles, I challenged them to step up, and they both hit .500 today. Matea was amazing the whole tournament, as she gave us great leadership and consistent play,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said.
Bakersfield (16-14) scored four of the first five points of the opening set, led by Kelsee Sawyer with two kills. After a kill by Samadan closed the margin to one at 8-7, the Roadrunners scored four straight points on two more kills by Sawyer and two service aces from Mariah Alvidrez.
After another service ace by Alvidrez extended Bakersfield’s lead to 21-14, Seattle U went on a 6-1 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces by Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.), to close to within two at 22-20. The Roadrunners were able to hold on and win the first set thanks to a couple of Redhawk errors.
In the second set, three straight attack errors by the Redhawks allowed Bakersfield to pull ahead, 7-4, but two Roadrunner errors as well as a kill by Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) closed the Seattle U deficit to 11-9. Bakersfield was able to keep the Redhawks at arm’s length, helped by a questionable touch call on an attack attempt by Molly O’Hagan that gave the Roadrunners a 23-20 lead. Bakersfield closed out the set on a kill by Sawyer and an ace from Eryn Riley.
The Roadrunners scored the first four points of the third set, thanks in part to a block assist and a kill by O’Hagan, and once again Bakersfield prevented Seattle U from putting together any type of rally. The Redhawks closed to within four at 20-16, but the Roadrunners finished off the set and the match by scoring five of the final six points, including two kills by Sawyer and a service ace by Alvidrez.
The Redhawks played well offensively, hitting .306 in the match as Lane accumulated 37 assists along with two kills, three service aces, and three digs. Mary Orbeta (Alameda, Calif.) led Seattle U with 14 digs, with Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) contributing eight digs to go along with four kills.
“We did a really good job offensively today, but we were short on the blocks and overall defense, things we had been doing well,” Finley said. “Bakersfield played a great match, and they earned the win.”
Danika Youngblood led Bakersfield with 15 kills and a .433 hitting percentage, while Sawyer earned 14 kills and a .407 hitting percentage and O’Hagan, named the tournament MVP, finished with 11 kills, five digs, and four total blocks. Sawyer was named to the All-Tournament Team, as was setter Luiza Martins, who finished with 43 assists and five digs in the match. Alvidrez led the Roadrunners with 13 digs and four service aces.
Despite the loss, the Redhawks showed improvement from the previous season, advancing one round further than they had in 2013. The team also finished the WAC season in a tie for fourth place at 8-6, the second consecutive year Seattle U posted a winning conference record.
“I think the last couple of weeks have been key to our team, in terms of finding a way to get a little more rhythm and learn how to push through adversity, and I think that showed this weekend,” continued Finley. “I am really proud of our team, we took another step forward with our program, and the future is really bright.”
Seattle University (14-16) concludes the 2014 season by heading south next Friday, Nov. 28, for a match against the Portland Pilots starting at 7 p.m.