ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Seattle University played its first two home games of the 2015 season last weekend, and now the Redhawks are back on the road. Seattle U leaves Friday for the relatively short trip to Utah to face the Wolverines of Utah Valley University Saturday afternoon. These two teams have played epic matches since becoming conference rivals, and with early positioning within the Western Athletic Conference at stake, Saturday’s contest should be just as close.
THE PREVIOUS WEEK: Seattle U extended its best-ever conference start as a member of the WAC, improving to 3-0 with a sweep of Grand Canyon (25-22, 25-21, 25-20). Iris Ivanis notched her second double-double in as many matches, collecting 16 kills and 14 digs, while Jelena Vujcin contributed 14 kills and eight digs. Martina Samadan earned 10 kills, a .571 hitting percentage, and four total blocks. Saturday, Seattle U took a set off CSU Bakersfield for the first time since the 2013 WAC Tournament, but the Roadrunners extended their winning streak over the Redhawks to eight with a 3-1 decision (25-20, 27-25, 15-25, 25-15). Samadan finished with 14 kills in 19 attempts for a .684 hitting percentage, plus she collected two service aces and five blocks. Jelena Vujcin contributed 13 kills and a team-high nine digs.
NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: As of Oct. 8, Seattle U is 11th in the country in aces per set (1.79) and 37th in blocks per set (2.55). Individually, Martina Samadan has moved up to fourth in the country in hitting percentage (.453), and Jelena Vujcin remains in 12th place in Division I in aces per set (0.51).
WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the second time in three weeks, Martina Samadan was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week this past Monday, Oct. 5. Against Grand Canyon and CSU Bakersfield, Samadan finished with 24 kills and just three attack errors in 33 attempts for a .636 hitting percentage, plus she earned nine total blocks. This is the second honor of the season for Samadan and the third of her Seattle U career, as she was first recognized Oct. 21, 2013, after helping the Redhawks defeat Grand Canyon, Chicago State, and Missouri-Kansas City. She earned the honor again Sept. 21, 2015, after helping Seattle U win four out of five matches during a trip to Tennessee and Florida.
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY: The Wolverines bring a 7-9 overall record into Saturday’s match. Utah Valley is tied with Seattle U for second place in the WAC standings with a 3-1 league record, with the only conference loss for the Wolverines coming in a five-set thriller at UMKC. As a team, Utah Valley is hitting .226 and averaging 11.90 kills, 1.14 service aces, 12.52 digs, and 2.65 blocks per set. Lauren Bakker, the preseason WAC Player of the Year, leads th team with 157 kills, a .331 hitting percentage, and 76 total blocks. Abby Jensen is second on the team in both kills (134) and digs (112). Sierra Starley has been the setter throughout the season, collecting 488 assists, plus she also leads the team with 15 service aces and has contributed 105 digs. Sabrina Tanner leads Utah Valley with 117 digs, plus she has 10 service aces, while Lindsey Tagge has contributed 110 digs and 11 service aces.
PLAYING FOR A CAUSE: The home match against Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday, Oct. 24, has been designated as the annual Dig Pink match, as the Redhawks join the fight against breast cancer. All donations will go to the Side-Out Foundation, an organization designed to help people with breast cancer regain control of their lives, similar to a side-out in volleyball allowing a team to regain control of the ball. More information about the organization can be found online at www.side-out.org. To make a donation before the Oct. 24 match, go to this website: https://www.side-out.org/cb/campaigns/campaign/10835. All fans attending the match against UMKC are encouraged to wear pink.