The Seattle University volleyball team struggled early in each of the first two sets before fighting to extend the match in set three, but Utah Valley had too much offense as the Wolverines defeated the Redhawks, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 26-24), Saturday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference match at the PE Building.
Utah Valley (8-9, 4-1 WAC) jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set, and then, after kills by Mila Duarte (Lima, Peru) and Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) cut the Redhawk deficit to five, the Wolverines scored three straight points, led by Madison Dennison with a kill and a block assist. The teams basically traded points the rest of the set, with Utah Valley clinching the opening set on a kill by Jaramey Barney.
The Wolverines opened the second set in similar fashion, scoring nine of the first 10 points, capped by a kill by Lauren Bakker. Seattle U would close its deficit to four at 18-14 on a service ace by Samadan, but Utah Valley would close out the second set on a 7-2 scoring run, led by Dennison with two kills and a block assist and capped once again by a kill from Barney.
Thanks to a service ace and a kill by Kelcee Munk, Utah Valley took an early 5-3 lead in the third set, but three kills and two service aces by Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) allowed the Redhawks to pull ahead, 11-10. In a set that featured 14 ties and seven lead changes, the Wolverines were able to pull out the set that clinched the match on kills by Dennison and Abby Jensen.
Samadan led the Redhawks with eight kills, while Mamic finished with seven kills and four service aces. Seattle U came into the match averaging 2.55 blocks per set, but was only able to earn two team blocks in the entire contest as Utah Valley posted a .360 hitting percentage.
Jensen led the Wolverines with 13 kills, with Dennison finishing with 11 kills on 13 attempts for an .846 hitting percentage. UVU setter Sierra Starley collected 33 assists and nine digs, while libero Sabrina Tanner contributed four service aces and five digs in the match.
Seattle University (11-7, 3-2 WAC) closes out the first half of the conference schedule next weekend with the annual road trip to Texas and New Mexico, first taking on UTRGV in Edinburg, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Pacific time). The Redhawks then head to Las Cruces, N.M., for the matchup against the New Mexico State Aggies Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m. Mountain time (12 noon Pacific time).