TICKETS | WATCH | STATS (vs UTRGV) | STATS (vs NM State)
SEATTLE --- Seattle U volleyball looks to continue its momentum as it opens WAC play after a record-setting non-conference schedule that saw the Redhawks notch a program-best nine wins since returning to Division I. The team will open league play against defending conference champion, UTRGV on Thursday (6 pm) at the Redhawk Center, before hosting NM State on Saturday (1 pm).
PROMOTIONS
The first 100 Seattle U students with a ticket for Thursday's match will receive a free t-shirt at the door. Admission for Seattle U students is free with valid SU ID.
FOLLOW THE #WACTION
All Western Athletic Conference (WAC) volleyball matches for Seattle U can be seen on the WAC Digital Network and available at wacdigitalnetwork.com or by downloading the WAC Digital Network app on Apple TV, Roku, or on Amazon Fire TV. Live stats for the weekend matches will be available on the Seattle U volleyball schedule page and on Twitter at @SeattleUVB.
THE SERIES
• Seattle U is 8-4 against UTRGV all-time dating back to 2013 ... the Redhawks have dropped their last three meetings.
• Since 2012, the Redhawks are 1-13 against NM State with the lone win (3-1) against the Aggies dating back to the 2014 campaign.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• UTRGV: Began the week at 6-8 overall and have dropped three of its last four matches, all at homes ... the UTRGV attack enters the Redhawk Center with 608 kills and hitting .209, while defensively averaging 14.7 digs and 1.8 blocks per set ... Barbara Silva leads the attack with 3.58 kills per set and a .299 hitting mark.
• NM STATE: The Aggies began the week with 526 kills and .265 hitting mark, while their defense is averaging 12.8 digs and 2.9 blocks per set ... NM State heads into the weekend slate at 9-3 with a 1-1 mark on the road and has won three of its last six matches ... Savannah Davison paces the Aggie attack averaging 3.37 kills per set, while hitting .244.
LAST TIME OUT
Seattle U went 3-1 last week notching a couple of road victories at Montana State and UC Riverside, while also being triumphant against Cal State Fullerton. The Redhawks set a program-record in the process recording nine non-conference wins, the most since their return to Division I, eclipsing the previous mark of eight wins, set in 2015.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Per NCAA Stats as of Sept. 23, Seattle U as a team was among the NCAA Top 45 in six categories:
• Team Blocks, 6th (138.5) — 1st WAC
• Team Kills, 11th (693) —1st WAC
• Team Attacks, 15th (1,940) —2nd WAC
• Team Assists, 18th (637) —1st WAC
• Team Digs, 25th (795) —2nd WAC
• Team Service Aces, 41st (77) — 1st WAC
KERSCHEN-BOOM
• Sophomore Eve Kerschenbaum began the week topping the WAC leaderboard in kills (193) and points (216.5) while ranking second in attacks (524) and third in kills per set (3.51) ... nationally she is listed 22nd in kills, 24th in points and 26th in attacks.
• She has six double-doubles and 11matches with double-digits kills including her last four outings.
STARK INDUSTRIES
• Redshirt-junior Rachel Stark began the weekend second on the Redhawk roster with 160 kills, good for third among WAC leaders and 101st nationally ... her 183.0 total points meanwhile is fourth-best on the WAC charts and 92nd on the NCAA Division I list.
• Stark is coming off a big week that saw her average a double-double over a span of four matches ... posted a career-best 22 kills against Cal State Fullerton (9/21) after notching a personal-best 19 digs at Montana State (9/17).
BIG QUE
• Sophomore Julia Queiroz heads into the weekend slate with 59 blocks (per the NCAA), topping the WAC leaderboard and good for 22nd among NCAA leaders ... she also has a WAC-best 1.37 blocks per set and is 34th nationally.
• Queiroz finished the 2018 season with 94 blocks in 19 matches and 0.85 blocks per set.
THE MAESTRO
• Freshman Ezgi Ozkan’s 486 assists heading into the weekend slate is 17th-best on the NCAA leaderboard and tops among WAC counterparts, while her 8.68 assists per set is third in the WAC and 135th nationally.
• She has eight matches with 30 or more assists, including a career-best 51 which she tallied against Holy Cross (9/7).
• Ozkan has contributed on defense tallying 41 blocks, sixth among WAC leaders and 195th in the NCAA.
TM9
• Junior Tijana Milojevic enters the weekend with WAC-best 23 digs and is fourth among league leaders in digs with 216 ... she also began the weekend listed among the NCAA leaders, ranking 27th in aces and 58th nationally in digs.
• With 1,212 careers digs MIlojevic is second all-time in the Seattle U Division I record and 126 shy of passing Emily Deleissegues for the top spot.
• Milojevic averages 4.51 digs per set over the span of her career and averaged 498.5 digs in each of the last two seasons.
LOOKING AHEAD
Seattle U continues #WACtion next week when it travels to Phoenix to take on Grand Canyon on Thursday, before flying to California to face CSU Bakersfield on Saturday.