PORTLAND, Ore. - Seattle U volleyball takes its four match win streak back on the road, heading to Portland, Oregon, for the Portland Invitational this Saturday. Matches against Portland State and Portland will take place at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, with both matches featuring streaming and live stats. These matches conclude the Redhawks non-conference schedule as they open the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on September 22 against Grand Canyon in the Redhawk Center.
FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS
FOUR IN A ROW
After dropping the first two matches of the season, Seattle U has won four straight. A victory over Louisiana Tech on Sept. 3 got the win streak started as SU went 3-0 this past weekend. Three set sweeps against Bellarmine and IUPUI opened the weekend, while Gardner Webb made it to four set but 11 total blocks from the Redhawks earned them a fourth straight victory.
ALL-TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES
Three Redhawks claimed All-Tournament honors at the Bellarmine Invitational with Shanice Horn and Lauren McCabe being named to the All-Tournament team and Ezgi Ozkan taking home the Tournament MVP. Ozkan was vital in all three wins, combining for 95 assists, 26 digs and five total blocks. McCabe was SU's lead blocker, registering eight total blocks over the three games and hit over .348 in each match. Horn recorded double digit kills in all three matches, tying her career high of 15 kills against Gardner Webb.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
The Redhawks posted two double-doubles at the Bellarmine Invitational, leading to victories. Arianna Bilby posted 16 kills and 10 digs for her first career double-double against IUPUI, while Ozkan recorded her second of the season with 34 assists and 10 digs against Gardner Webb.
DIGS FOR THE WIN
Seattle U has averaged 54 digs per match in its four wins. Libero Katlyn Sipes has logged double digit digs in the last three matches, leading the team in each match and setting a new season-high of 18 against IUPUI. Merima Smajlovic posted a new career high with 12 digs against IUPUI, while Ozkan had 10 digs in the win over Gardner Webb and Bilby recorded 10 digs in the last two matches.
MILESTONES TO WATCH
Seniors Lauren McCabe and Ezgi Ozkan will look to climb up the all-time leaderboards this season. McCabe currently ranks fifth in solo blocks (29) and is 10 total blocks away from cracking that top-10 list. Ozkan ranks fourth all-time in assists (1,672) and has a chance to become the fourth Redhawk ever to register 2,000 career assists.
NEWS AND NOTES
Season ticket packages for the upcoming season are on sale now. Season ticket benefits include up to a 40% discount off single game prices, priority access to NCAA Tournament tickets and special offers only available to season ticket holders. Single game tickets are available now. For more ticketing information go to Goseattleu.com/tix or call 206.398.4678
Stay connected with Seattle U volleyball and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.
FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS
- Saturday, September 17 at 12 p.m.
- Seattle U (4-2, 0-0 WAC) vs Portland State (4-5, 0-0 Big Sky)
- Portland, Ore.
- Live Stats
- Live Stream
- Saturday, September 17 at 4 p.m.
- Seattle U at Portland (5-4, 0-0 WCC)
- Portland, Ore.
- Live Stats
- Live Stream
FOUR IN A ROW
After dropping the first two matches of the season, Seattle U has won four straight. A victory over Louisiana Tech on Sept. 3 got the win streak started as SU went 3-0 this past weekend. Three set sweeps against Bellarmine and IUPUI opened the weekend, while Gardner Webb made it to four set but 11 total blocks from the Redhawks earned them a fourth straight victory.
ALL-TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES
Three Redhawks claimed All-Tournament honors at the Bellarmine Invitational with Shanice Horn and Lauren McCabe being named to the All-Tournament team and Ezgi Ozkan taking home the Tournament MVP. Ozkan was vital in all three wins, combining for 95 assists, 26 digs and five total blocks. McCabe was SU's lead blocker, registering eight total blocks over the three games and hit over .348 in each match. Horn recorded double digit kills in all three matches, tying her career high of 15 kills against Gardner Webb.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
The Redhawks posted two double-doubles at the Bellarmine Invitational, leading to victories. Arianna Bilby posted 16 kills and 10 digs for her first career double-double against IUPUI, while Ozkan recorded her second of the season with 34 assists and 10 digs against Gardner Webb.
DIGS FOR THE WIN
Seattle U has averaged 54 digs per match in its four wins. Libero Katlyn Sipes has logged double digit digs in the last three matches, leading the team in each match and setting a new season-high of 18 against IUPUI. Merima Smajlovic posted a new career high with 12 digs against IUPUI, while Ozkan had 10 digs in the win over Gardner Webb and Bilby recorded 10 digs in the last two matches.
MILESTONES TO WATCH
Seniors Lauren McCabe and Ezgi Ozkan will look to climb up the all-time leaderboards this season. McCabe currently ranks fifth in solo blocks (29) and is 10 total blocks away from cracking that top-10 list. Ozkan ranks fourth all-time in assists (1,672) and has a chance to become the fourth Redhawk ever to register 2,000 career assists.
NEWS AND NOTES
- After the tournament, Ozkan was named Tournament MVP, while Horn and McCabe joined her on the All-Tournament team. Ozkan combined for 95 assists, 26 digs and five total blocks in the three wins, while McCabe was the team's leader in blocks with eight and Horn tied her career high with 15 kills against Gardner Webb.
- SU claimed its fourth straight match, taking down Gardner Webb in four sets and winning the Bellarmine Invitational on Sept. 10. The Redhawks posted double digit blocks for the second time this season, led by Marley Hardgrave's six total blocks. Horn posted double digit kills for the fifth straight match, while McCabe set a new career high with 11 kills. Ozkan posted a double-double and had her fourth 30+ assist match of the season.
- Seattle U earned its second victory of the day and third straight overall win, defeating IUPUI in three sets on Sept. 9. Bilby recorded her first career double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs, while Ozkan logged 32 assists, nine digs and two service aces. Sipes and Merima Smajlovic set season-high in digs with 18 and 12, respectively.
- The Redhawks won their second straight match, defeating Bellarmine in three straight sets on Sept. 9. Bilby was one kill and dig short of a double-double, while Horn led the team in kills with 11. Sipes posted a season-high 14 digs and Ozkan added 29 assists.
- Ozkan earned All-Tournament honors at the Fresno State Invitational on Sept. 3, posting 109 assists and nine total blocks over the three match span.
- Seattle U recorded its first victory of the season with a four set win over Louisiana Tech on Sept. 3. Career best performances from Bilby (kills, 22) and Erin Goya (digs, 19) as well as Ozkan's 46 assists helped the Redhawks defeat the Bulldogs.
- This is Michelle Cole's third season at Seattle U and fifth overall as a head coach.
- The 2022-23 academic year marks the 24th season of SU volleyball since the program was reinstated in 1999. This will be their 15th season as a NCAA Division I member and 11th as part of the WAC.
- SU added two new assistant coaches in the offseason with Greg Shell and Mariko Downey joining the program. Shell spent 18 years as an assistant at Central Connecticut State, while Downey comes from UW where they made one sweet sixteen appearance.
Season ticket packages for the upcoming season are on sale now. Season ticket benefits include up to a 40% discount off single game prices, priority access to NCAA Tournament tickets and special offers only available to season ticket holders. Single game tickets are available now. For more ticketing information go to Goseattleu.com/tix or call 206.398.4678
Stay connected with Seattle U volleyball and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.