Seattle University saw its 2014 season come to a conclusion with a 3-0 loss to the University of Portland (25-19, 25-14, 25-19) Friday night in a non-conference collegiate volleyball match at the Chiles Center.
Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) led the Redhawks with nine kills, Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) earned eight kills and three total blocks, and Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) finished with eight kills and nine digs. Defensively, Mary Orbeta (Alameda, Calif.) led the way with 10 defensive digs, with Shelby Babcock (Chandler, Ariz.) contributing nine digs to the Redhawk effort.
Portland (7-23) scored the first three points of the opening set, the last two on blocks by Brittney Markwith and Emily Liger, and held a 7-3 lead after a service ace by Djurdjina Milovic. The Redhawks scored the next four points, the final two on consecutive kills by Ivanis, but Portland retook the lead with three straight points.
After a kill by Stephanie Stoll (Bellevue, Wash.) closed the Redhawk deficit to one at 15-14, Portland scored five unanswered points, including two service aces by Markwith. A block by Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) and Samadan as well as a service ace from Vujcin closed the gap to three at 20-17, but the Pilots scored five of the final seven points of the set, punctuated by a kill from Liger.
The second set started the same way, with the Pilots winning the first three points, but the home team continued its solid play, taking a 10-3 lead on a kill by Maddy Mandon. Four straight Redhawk errors later in the set allowed Portland to extend its lead to 18-8, and back-to-back kills by Makayla Lindburg gave the Pilots a 21-9 advantage on their way to winning the second set and taking a 2-0 lead.
The Redhawks scored the first two points of the third set on kills by Vujcin and Ivanis, but Portland responded with four unanswered points, featuring two kills by Bea Loper and a service ace from Liger. Down 12-7, Seattle U scored three straight points on kills by three different people, but the Pilots answered with three straight points of their own to extend their lead back to five at 15-10.
Seattle U fought back, as consecutive kills by Ivanis brought the Redhawks to within one at 15-14, but two kills by Loper and back-to-back service aces from Milovic gave the Pilots a 20-16 advantage. Katie Mardesich earned a service ace to set up match point, and Liger closed it out with a kill.
Liger led the Pilots with nine kills, with Loper contributing eight kills. Markwith and Milovic earned three service aces apiece as Portland finished with eight aces as a team versus just two for the Redhawks. Seattle U finished with more kills, digs, and blocks than Portland, but 42 total errors hurt the Redhawks, while the Pilots made just 16 total errors in the match.
Seattle University finishes the 2014 season with a 14-17 overall record, including an 8-6 record within the Western Athletic Conference. The Redhawks ended up in a tie for fourth place in the league standings and advanced to the championship match of the WAC Volleyball Tournament last weekend. Friday’s match was the final one for Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.) and Stoll in their collegiate careers.