Seattle U volleyball finishes up the road portion of the Spring 2021 schedule with a trip to Phoenix, Ariz., for a pair of matches against Grand Canyon on March 15 and 16. The series opener on Monday is slated for a 7 pm start, while Tuesday's contest is set for a 3 pm first serve.
Program Quick Hits
• The 2020-21 academic year marks the first season for head coach Michelle Cole after being announced as the program's fourth Division I head coach on Feb. 6, 2020.
• The 2020-21 academic year marks the 22nd season of Seattle U volleyball since the program was reinstatement in 1999 ... this season is also the Redhawks' 13th as a NCAA Division I-member and ninth as part of the WAC.
• The Redhawks begin the year with 25,750 kills, 30,408 digs and 4,226 total blocks, since the start of 1999 season.
About The Redhawks
• Sophomore Ezgi Ozkan began the week listed among WAC leaders is assists (3rd, 315) and assists/set (3rd, 9.00). She has recorded 30 or more assists in 14 of 17 matches, dating back to last season, and has reached the 30-assist plateau 21 times in her Redhawk career.
• Freshman Sophia Bertotti Metoyer is hitting a team-best .215 (54-19-163) on the year. She is also second among team leaders with 17 blocks.
• Junior Julia Queiroz had a career week against UTRGV, finishing with 27 kills behind a red hot .548-clip. She had career-bests in hitting (.600) and kills (14) against last Monday, then posted an encore performance of 13 kills and .500 hitting in the series finale.
• On Mar. 4, senior Tijana Milojevic ended a her double-digit dig streak at 30 consecutive matches, which began on Sept. 14, 2019, and registered 20 or more digs eight times during the stretch. The streak was a career best, eclipsing her previous mark of 23-straight (9/2-11/16/2017).
• On Feb. 23, 2021, Milojevic became only the second player in program-history to reach 1,600 career digs joining all-time program Maggie Safranski (2,008). She entered the UTRGV matches with 1,617 digs.
Milestones & Chart Movers
• Milojevic began the week with 103 career aces, becoming the 7th Redhawk to record 100 aces since 2001. She is one shy of Casey Hussey for sixth (104) on the all-time list.
• Entering the week with 1,643 digs, Milojevic is the program's career Div. I-era leader, as she trails all-time mark of 2,008 set by Maggie Safranski.
• Milojevic began the week playing 366 career sets and is 9th in the team's Div. I-era, and is two sets shy of passing Matea Mamic for 8th on the list. In addition, Milojevic is two match appearance shy of 100, which would make her the 13th Redhawk since 2001 to reach the mark.
• Junior Eve Kerschenbaum started the week with 604 career kills, and is eight kills short of breaking into the Seattle U Div. I-era Top 10.
• Sophomore Lauren McCabe entered the GCU series with 103 career blocks, becoming the 23rd Redhawk since 2001 to reach the century mark. She is five blocks shy of tying Jenny Burrows' career mark of 108 and breaking into the Redhawk's Top 20 career.
• Queiroz began the week with 214 career blocks and listed 9th among the program's Div. I-era charts. She is 5 blocks shy of passing Cristin Richards for 8th.
• Entering the week with 1,091 career assist, Ezgi Ozkan is 81 shy of Casey Hussey (1,172) for 7th on all-time list and 113 short of Jacquie Brice (1,204) for 5th on the program's Div. I-era list.
Opponent Preview: Grand Canyon
• The Lopes are began the week second in the WAC Standings with a 8-2 record.
• GCU is carrying a four-match win streak and has won 12 of its last 13 sets.
• Grand Canyon is 2-1 is matches that extend past three sets this season.
• GCU is led by head coach Tim Nollan, who's currently in his fifth season with the program.
Series History
• The Redhawks have met Grand Canyon 15 times and lead the series, 12-3.
• Seattle U is 6-1 when playing the Lopes on their home court.
• GCU won both meetings in 2019 and as 3-2 over the course of the five contests.
NCAA Active Career Leader
• As of Mar. 12, per NCAA Stats, Tijana Milojevic's 1,643 career digs, placed her 15th-overall among active Division I leaders and 24th across all NCAA Divisions.
• Her 4.49 digs/set is 19th among Div. I active career leaders.
Up Next
• Seattle U concludes the Spring 2021 regular season at home against California Baptist on March 22 and 23.