Seattle University was ready to finish off UT Rio Grande Valley in three sets, but after the Vaqueros fought back to extend the match, the Redhawks made sure they closed out the deal in the fourth set, earning a 3-1 victory (25-12, 25-16, 23-25, 25-11) Thursday night in a Western Athletic Conference volleyball match at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) led the Redhawks with 12 kills and nine total blocks, while Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) notched a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, plus she tied the Seattle U single-match record with eight service aces. Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) finished with 41 assists, three kills, and seven digs, and Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia), playing the libero position, led the Redhawks with a career-high 17 digs to go along with three service aces.
With Ivanis serving, Seattle U scored seven unanswered points to open an 8-2 lead in the opening set, and then two blocks by Samadan and Vujcin later in the set extended the Redhawk lead to 16-6. The Redhawks would close out the first set with a 6-2 scoring run, punctuated by another block by Samadan and Vujcin.
Two kills and a block assist by Samadan allowed Seattle U to score four of the first five points of the second set, and then Vujcin started another quick 4-0 Redhawk run with a kill and a service ace. A block by Bojana Mitrovic and Joanna Boronczyk allowed the Vaqueros to cut their deficit to four at 19-15, but the Redhawks scored six of the final seven points of the set, culminating in back-to-back service aces by Vujcin.
The Redhawks went on a 9-1 scoring run early in the third set, including three service aces, to open an 11-3 advantage, but UTRGV answered with six unanswered points, starting with a kill and a service ace by Mitrovic. Later in the third set, the Redhawks scored four unanswered points to open a 19-15 lead, but the Vaqueros fought back, outscoring Seattle U 6-1 at the end of the set, as Alisha Watson earned a kill and a service ace, followed by a kill by Alexandra Ecker that extended the match.
Two more service aces by Vujcin as well as three kills by three different players allowed the Redhawks to open a 10-1 lead in the fourth set. After a kill by Ecker closed the Vaquero deficit to 14-7, Seattle U scored six straight points, including two aces by Vujcin, to extend the lead into double figures. Mila Duarte (Lima, Peru) earned the kill that clinched the set and the match for the Redhawks.
“Tonight was a nice effort, as we were able to play most of our players in the match. Among the good things that happened was Iris’s play at libero, something we needed to shore up our passing. Now we face another challenge Saturday,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said.
UTRGV (8-12, 1-5 WAC) was led by Mitrovic and Watson with eight kills apiece, with Kasey Sanchez leading all players with 18 defensive digs. Seattle U hit .242 as a team and collected 12 team blocks, holding the Vaqueros to a .033 hitting percentage in the match.
Seattle University (12-7, 4-2 WAC) heads to Las Cruces, N.M., for a match Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m. local time against New Mexico State, which extended its lead in the conference to two games by defeating Utah Valley Thursday night, 3-1.