After a sluggish start in which Seattle University needed to rally to win the first set before dropping the second set, the Redhawks came out of the 10-minute break with renewed fire, taking the final two sets for a 3-1 victory (26-24, 21-25, 25-10, 25-15) over Chicago State University Saturday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference volleyball contest at the Dickens Center.
After the intermission, Seattle U took control of the third set right away, racing out to a 10-2 lead thanks in part to two kills and a block assist by Mila Duarte (Lima, Peru). Back-to-back service aces by Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) helped the Redhawks extend their lead into double digits, where it remained the rest of the set, as Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) accounted for Seattle U’s final three points with three kills.
The Redhawks maintained that momentum into the fourth set, pulling out to a 9-3 lead, starting with two kills and a block assist by Maja Stojanovic (Cacak, Serbia) and culminating with back-to-back service aces from Kirstin Schauble (Meadow Vista, Calif.). The Redhawks later scored six unanswered points, punctuated by consecutive kills from Ivanis, but two kills and a block by Elli Woinowsky closed the Cougar deficit to six at 17-11. Seattle U closed out the set and the match with a 7-3 scoring run, with a kill by Cecilia Wu (Alpharetta, Ga.) ending the contest.
Ivanis notched a double-double to lead the Redhawks, finishing with 18 kills and 14 digs, plus she posted a .371 hitting percentage. Samadan earned 16 kills on a .462 hitting percentage along with three service aces and four total blocks, while Wu collected seven kills and two service aces and Duarte contributed six kills and three total blocks.
“A great weekend, especially for Martina and Kerry (Lane), who played well again today. Once again, Iris played great defensively, and today she added an amazing offensive performance,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “After struggling in the first two sets, I am proud of the way the team came together after the break and took control of the match. I am happy with the play of Cecilia and Alyssa (Deobler), who came off the bench and were crucial to our success.”
Chicago State (1-14, 0-2 WAC) raced out to an 8-2 lead in the first set, helped by four Seattle U attack errors. Down 21-15, the Redhawks started their rally with five unanswered points, and then Seattle U rattled off four more points in a row to bring about set point at 24-22. Logan Miller earned a kill and a block assist to tie the set, but Samadan clinched the set for the Redhawks with consecutive kills.
Led by two kills from Samadan, Seattle U took the early lead in the second set, but two kills by Arieta Vaimaona sandwiched around a service ace from Brianna Stewart put the Cougars ahead, 6-5. The home team would extend that lead thanks to a kill by Corey Davis and a service ace from Elli Woinowsky, but kills by Shae Harris (Vancouver, B.C.), Ivanis, and Samadan pulled the Redhawks into a 16-16 tie.
Chicago State would regain the lead as Seattle U made two errors, followed by a kill from Melina Staengle and a kill and a service ace by Woinowsky. Kills by Duarte and Samadan extended the set, but the Cougars would eventually clinch the set and tie the match on a kill by Stewart.
After hitting .191 in the first two sets, Seattle U posted a .571 hitting percentage after the break, including a .789 third-set hitting percentage as the Redhawks finished at .350, their highest single-match hitting percentage of the season. Harris earned 21 assists, three kills, and five digs in the first two sets, while Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) took over as setter after the intermission and accumulated 25 assists, two kills and three digs.
Seattle University (10-5, 2-0 WAC) opens its home schedule Thursday, Oct. 1, against Grand Canyon starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Seattle Academy gymnasium, located at 1111 13th Avenue. The Redhawks then host CSU Bakersfield Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/live).