The Seattle University volleyball team showed the home crowd the improvement it had made through the first part of the 2015 season, dominating Grand Canyon University in kills and digs as the Redhawks swept the Antelopes, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-20), Thursday night in a Western Athletic Conference match at the Seattle Academy Gymnasium.
Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) notched a double-double for the second straight match, leading the Redhawks with 16 kills and 14 digs, plus she hit .400. Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) collected 14 kills and eight digs, while Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) contributed 10 kills and four total blocks to the victory. Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) accumulated 39 assists along with two kills, six digs, and two block assists, and Alyssa Deobler (Granada Hills, Calif.) played libero throughout the night, finishing with nine digs, three assists, and two service aces.
“It’s great to get a sweep over a good team in our conference. We knew that we would have a battle with their ball control. Besides the veterans that played well, especially Iris and Martina, it was good to give some of the younger players some playing time to continue to develop them,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “It was a good team effort, especially creating the offense that we did. We still have to work to eliminate errors, but I am happy with the way we played tonight and look forward to Saturday.”
Back-to-back kills by Ivanis put the Redhawks ahead in the first set, 7-5, but Grand Canyon scored three straight points, including kills by Megan Byrnes and Gracie Dimond, to take an 8-7 lead. After a kill by Natalie Tardy tied the set at 10-10, Seattle U took the lead for good with a 5-1 scoring run, punctuated by consecutive Vujcin kills.
Grand Canyon (2-12, 0-2 WAC) used two kills by Tardy to close its deficit to one at 20-19, but Ivanis and Vujcin notched back-to-back kills to help Seattle U reestablish a three-point advantage. A service ace by Deobler brought about set point, and Samadan clinched the first set for the Redhawks with a kill.
Seattle U went on a 6-1 scoring run, including two kills by Ivanis, to open a 9-4 lead in the second set, but two kills by Tardy as well as a kill and a block assist from Byrnes helped the Antelopes close the gap to two at 13-11. Seattle U scored four unanswered points, but Grand Canyon immediately responded with five straight points of its own, featuring consecutive kills by Jordyn Sanchez, to cut the Redhawk lead to one at 17-16.
After kills by Tardy and Leigh Stonerook tied the set at 20-20, the Redhawks scored five of the final six points, featuring two kills from Vujcin. Once again, Seattle U would close out the set with a kill by Samadan, taking a 2-0 match lead into the intermission.
Samadan picked up two kills and a block assist as Seattle U won three of the first four points of the third set, and then two kills by Ivanis as well as two kills and a block assist by Vujcin helped the Redhawks extend their lead to 11-4. Once again, Grand Canyon fought back, going on a 6-1 scoring run that culminated with back-to-back blocks to come within two at 13-11.
The Redhawks again extended their lead to six at 21-15, but a kill by Stonerook and a service ace from Dimond brought the Antelopes to within three at 21-18. Samadan and Lane would close out the set and the match for the Redhawks, each picking up a kill before combining on a block on match point.
Tardy led the Antelope offense with 11 kills, with Sanchez contributing eight kills for Grand Canyon. The visitors did collect more team blocks than the Redhawks, 7.5-5.0, led by Byrnes and Hannah Hicks with five block assists apiece, but Seattle U held significant advantages in kills (46-33) and digs (48-27).
Seattle University (11-5, 3-0 WAC) welcomes CSU Bakersfield to the Pacific Northwest for a conference contest Saturday, Oct. 3, starting at 1 p.m. at the Seattle Academy Gymnasium. The Roadrunners are 1-1 in league play after suffering a 3-1 loss to Utah Valley Thursday night.