In another back-and-forth match between two of the top teams in the Western Athletic Conference, New Mexico State won the important points down the stretch to defeat Seattle University, 3-2 (21-25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-16, 15-11), Wednesday night in a collegiate volleyball match at the Seattle Academy Gymnasium.
Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia) led Seattle U with 19 kills, a .424 hitting percentage, and six total blocks, while Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) finished with 12 kills and eight digs. Setter Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) dished out 45 assists, including the 3,000th assist of her career, Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia) led the Redhawk defense with 11 digs, and Kirstin Schauble (Meadow Vista, Calif.) contributed eight digs and three service aces.
“It was a very competitive match between two quality teams. We got off to a great start, but New Mexico State made some adjustments and was able to make the plays at the end,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “Martina had another outstanding match, and Jelena played well too. We are disappointed in the final result, but we will focus on bouncing back to take care of business Saturday.”
A kill and two service aces by Gwen Murphy allowed New Mexico State to take a 6-2 lead in the opening set, and then kills by Sasha-Lee Thomas and Tatyana Battle extended that advantage to 11-5. Down 16-12 after a block by Thomas and Battle, Seattle U rallied, scoring five of the next six points, including a kill and a block assist by Samadan, to tie the set at 17-17. After a service ace by Jordan Abalos allowed the Aggies to pull ahead 20-18, the Redhawks closed out the set with a 7-1 scoring run, led by Vujcin with three kills.
Seattle U fell behind in the second set 8-6 before putting together a 10-2 scoring run, featuring four Samadan kills, to take the lead 16-10. New Mexico State came back with its own 7-1 scoring run to pull into a 19-19 tie, but consecutive kills by Mila Duarte (Lima, Peru) and Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) put the Redhawks back on top at 23-21. The Aggies scored five of the final six points to win the second set, led by two kills apiece by Nathalie Castellanos and Andrea Tauai and capped by a kill from Taylor Livoti.
New Mexico State (24-5, 13-0 WAC) scored the first four points of the third set, but Seattle U scored the next five points thanks in part to a kill by Duarte and a service ace from Mamic. After a kill by Battle tied the set at 9-9, Seattle U scored four straight points, led by Samadan and Mamic with a kill each. The Redhawks would close out the third set on an 8-2 scoring run, including two block assists and a kill by Samadan, to take a 2-1 match lead.
The Aggies scored four of the first five points of the fourth set, but a block by Mamic and Maja Stojanovic (Cacak, Serbia) pulled the Redhawks to within one at 9-8. New Mexico State responded with a 6-1 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces from Ariadnne Sierra, to extend its lead to 15-10. The Aggies closed out the set with a 10-3 scoring run, led by Murphy with three kills and two block assists, to send the match to a deciding fifth set.
Two kills by Samadan along with a block assist allowed the Redhawks to open a 3-1 lead in the fifth set, but a quick timeout seemed to calm the Aggies down, as they went on an 8-3 scoring run, capped by two kills from Castellanos, to open a three-point advantage. A solo block by Samadan pulled the Redhawks to within one at 11-10, but New Mexico State scored four of the final five points of the match, capped by a block from Murphy and Nash.
Tauai led New Mexico State with 14 kills, while Murphy posted a .611 hitting percentage as she collected 12 kills, two service aces, four digs, and five total blocks. Other than a nine-kill advantage for the Aggies (62-53), the numbers for the two teams were very close, as they each finished with eight service aces and 47 digs.
Seattle University (16-10, 8-5 WAC) wraps up the conference season Saturday, Nov. 14, against UT Rio Grande Valley starting at 1 p.m. Shortly before the match, Samadan will be honored in Senior Day ceremonies. The match will be streamed online by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/live).