Seattle University battled back multiple times, first to bring about a deciding fifth set and again to close a significant deficit in that final set, but Missouri-Kansas City was able to outlast the Redhawks, 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12), in the first round of the 2015 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament Thursday night at the Swinney Recreation Center.
Down two sets to one, Seattle U took the early 3-1 lead in the fourth set on a kill by Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia), a service ace by Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia), and a block by Samadan and Cecilia Wu (Green Brook, N.J.). UMKC scored the next three points, but the Redhawks responded with three straight points of their own, featuring two kills by Samadan.
After UMKC pulled ahead 11-9, Seattle U won the next three points, including a block by Wu and Samadan, and then a block by Kerry Lane (Tucson, Ariz.) gave the Redhawks a 15-13 advantage. After a kill by Madison Mosier tied the set at 19-19, Seattle U closed out the fourth set with a 6-3 scoring run, punctuated by back-to-back kills by Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia).
UMKC (15-12) scored the first four points of the fifth set, led by Jessica Hendin with two kills and Nicole Wemhoff with a service ace, and eventually extended the lead to 9-2 on three straight kills. Down 13-5 after a kill by Hendin, the Redhawks rallied back, scoring six unanswered points, starting with two blocks and including two service aces by Iris Ivanis (Pozega, Croatia). A kill by Samadan extended the match, but two Seattle U errors allowed the Kangaroos to win the set and the match.
Samadan collected 25 kills, the most in a single match in her storied career, plus she posted a .432 hitting percentage and earned seven total blocks. Vujcin finished with 12 kills, six digs, and seven total blocks, while Mamic contributed nine kills, four assists, eight digs, and five block assists. Defensively, Maja Stojanovic (Cacak, Serbia) led the Redhawks with eight total blocks to go along with seven kills, and Ivanis finished with 15 defensive digs plus four service aces.
“Martina played her heart out and had a phenomenal match, and Iris showed courage in putting together the service streak that brought us back in the final set,” Seattle U head coach James Finley said. “However, we did not play as well as we are capable of, and our errors caught up with us at the end. We did not meet the expectations we established at the beginning of the season and reiterated heading into the tournament.”
Seattle U scored the first three points of the match thanks in part to a kill by Samadan and a service ace from Ivanis. After a kill by Mosier tied the set at 8-8, the Redhawks went on a 7-3 scoring run, led by Stojanovic with two block assists and a kill, to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout.
UMKC would go on a 6-1 scoring run later in the set, led by two kills from Sydney Crimmins, to pull ahead 20-18. A kill by Vujcin and a service ace from Mamic tied the set at 20-20, but the Kangaroos closed out the opening set with a 5-2 scoring run, led by Crimmins with two more kills.
The Redhawks started the second set with an 8-1 scoring run, featuring three kills and a block assist by Vujcin as well as two kills and a block assist by Samadan. The Kangaroos battled back, scoring four unanswered points, including two kills by Mosier, to cut the Redhawk lead to three at 11-8, but Seattle U responded with six straight points of its own, including two kills and a block assist by Mamic.
Down 21-12, UMKC put together an 8-2 scoring run, led by Mosier with three kills, to close its deficit to three at 23-20. Seattle U settled down and closed out the second set with a kill and a solo block by Stojanovic, tying the match at one set apiece.
Two kills by Samadan helped Seattle U take a 4-1 lead early in the third set, but UMKC scored the next four points, capped by a service ace from Wemhoff, to pull ahead, 5-4. The Redhawks outscored the Kangaroos 9-5, led by Stojanovic with two kills and a block assist, to take a 15-12 lead into the third set media timeout.
After a kill by Samadan, UMKC went on a 7-1 scoring run, led by Mosier and Hendin with three kills apiece, to take a 19-17 advantage. A block by Vujcin and Stojanovic tied the set at 22-22, but the Kangaroos would score the final three points of the set thanks to kills by Crimmins and Taryn Miller as well as a set-clinching service ace by Brianna Starr.
Mosier led the Kangaroos with 20 kills, while Hendin notched a double-double with 18 kills and 16 digs and Crimmins contributed 16 kills. Both UMKC setters played well, as Wemhoff earned 35 assists, nine digs, and two service aces and Kaylyn Brandt finished with 26 assists and eight digs. Defensively, Miller led all players in the match with 22 digs, plus she helped run the offense at times with five assists.
As a team, Seattle U finished with eight service aces and 18 team blocks, the second-highest single-match total in program history. However, UMKC ended the night ahead of the Redhawks in total kills (72-60), hitting percentage (.257-.241), and digs (69-56).
Seattle University (17-11) will conclude the 2015 season with a match against the Portland Pilots next Friday, Nov. 27, at 5 p.m. at Seattle Academy. With a victory, the Redhawks would tie the 2006 and 2010 squads for the second-most victories in a season in program history.
“I told the team that I am proud of them and of the progress we have made this season. We have an opportunity to do what few teams get the chance to do, and that is end the season with a victory, so we will refocus and work on doing everything to be successful next week,” added Finley.