SAN FRANCISCO – Redshirt sophomore setter Elif Teksoy became just the sixth Redhawk in the modern DI era to surpass 1,000 career assists as Seattle University volleyball closed out non-conference play by splitting a pair of matches Saturday in San Francisco.
The Redhawks (2-8) downed the Falcons of Air Force in straight sets, 25-19, 28-26, 27-25, then battled tough against the host Dons of San Francisco, but fell in straight sets, 17-25, 21-25, 18-25.
Teksoy entered Saturday with 999 career assists, good for sixth place in Seattle U's record book. With the score 3-2 Falcons in the first set of the day, Teksoy set up Yasemin Elmas for the kill and the 1,000 assist marker for her career.
"It was exciting to see Elif achieve this milestone in front of her parents who were able to watch her play in person for the first time today," said Head Coach Dan Behnke. "She put our hitters in some great situations and was a big part of our win."
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Teksoy finished the match with 32 assists to go with seven digs, two kills and two blocks. Seattle U had a trio of players tally double-digit kills including Merima Smajlovic with 11, Tatum Chase with 10 and Elmas with 10. Arianna Bilby chipped in nine kills and 14 digs.
After leading for nearly the entire first set, the Redhawks had to claw their way back in the second set agains Air Force. They would outscore the Falcons 10-3 down the stretch, including a 4-0 run to tie the score 21-21 and three straight points, including back-to-back Bilby kills and a block by Smajlovic and Marley Hardgrave, to clinch the win.
The third set went to extra points as well as the Redhawks forced the Falcons into back-to-back attack errors to break the 25-25 tie.
Against the Dons, Elmas finished with six kills on 13 swings and no errors while Hardgrave added five kills on 13 swings and just one error, but the rest of the Redhawks' offense struggled in the straight-sets setback.
Katlyn Sipes tallied a match-high 16 digs while Teksoy dished 22 assists, bringing her career total to 1,053.
The Redhawks return home to open Western Athletic Conference play next week, beginning Saturday, Sept. 28 against Grand Canyon. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at the Redhawk Center.
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