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Volleyball Makes the Trip to Utah Tech

SEATTLE – The Seattle U volleyball team remains on the road this week, making the jump over to the state of Utah for a Thursday night match against Utah Tech at 5:00 PM PT at Burns Arena.

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Volleyball Makes the Trip to Utah TechVolleyball Makes the Trip to Utah Tech
SEATTLE – The Seattle U volleyball team remains on the road this week, making the jump over to the state of Utah for a Thursday night match against Utah Tech at 5:00 PM PT at Burns Arena.
 
FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS QUICK HITS
  • Seattle U hit the road last week, traveling to Riverside for its first meeting with California Baptist of the season. The Redhawks fell 3-0 and now sit tied for sixth in the WAC standings with Abilene Christian and California Baptist.
  • Prior to Seattle U's current three road match slate, the Redhawks held three straight matches at home. They went 2-1 in that time frame, posting back-to-back wins by sweeping Southern Utah 3-0 and clinching the rematch 3-1 against Abilene Christian. Playing host to WAC leader UT Arlington, the Redhawks fell in straight sets. 
  • Arianna Bilby recorded her third 20+ kill performance this season, tallying 20 against Abilene Christian. She picked up her seventh double-double a match later, pacing the team with 18 kills and 15 digs against Southern Utah. In Seattle U's lone road match last week, Bilby led the Redhawks with 10 kills against CBU. 
  • Bilby leads the Redhawks with 244 kills and ranks seventh in the WAC with 3.34 kills per set.
  • Katlyn Sipes grabbed eight more digs against the Lancers, inching ever closer to reaching 1,000 career digs. She sits four digs shy of the mark. She would be the fifth Redhawk in Seattle U's current D-I era to reach 1,000 digs in their career.
  • Sipes leads the team with 298 digs and ranks second in the WAC in digs per set (4.14). 
  • Elif Teksoy became just the sixth Redhawk in the program's modern Division I era to surpass 1,000 career assists when she passed the marker on Sept. 21 in a 3-0 win over Air Force. The redshirt sophomore enters the weekend with 1,267 career assists.
  • Teksoy leads the team with 404 assists on the season and ranks sixth in the WAC with 6.41 assists per set.
  • Merima Smajlovic ranks third in the WAC and paces the team with 32 service aces (0.44 per set). She sits second on the team in kills, racking up 184. 
  • Marley Hardgrave ranks seventh in the WAC with 1.07 blocks per set. She leads the team with 61.0 blocks and picked up her second solo block of the year against California Baptist.
  • Yasemin Elmas ranks second on the team with 56.0 total blocks on the season and picked up her 100th kill of the year against Utah Valley. 
  • The Redhawks won their season opener, 3-2, over CSUN to give new Head Coach Dan Behnke his first win at the helm of the program.
  • Merima Smajlovic was named to the Idaho State All-Tournament Team. The junior outside hitter averaged 2.92 kills and 3.0 digs per set while also tallying seven aces and five blocks over the three matches.
  • Marley Hardgrave earned all-tournament honors at the Roadrunner Classic after collecting 13 total blocks over two matches. The junior middle blocker also hit an efficient .320.
  • Katlyn Sipes was crowned WAC Libero of the Week on Oct. 9 to secure Seattle U's first conference weekly honor since 2019. The win was a first for the senior and for the team since the league implemented the distinction in 2023. Sipes became one of now 11 Redhawks to be recognized since Seattle U joined the WAC in 2012.
  • The Redhawks tied a program record number of aces in a match (in their current D-I era) against Abilene Christian, connecting 14 aces.
  • Seattle U closed out non-conference play with a 2-8 record. The Redhawks' wins came over CSUN and Air Force.
  • The 2024 Redhawk squad features nine returning players and seven new faces.
ABOUT THE SERIES VS UTAH TECH
  • Seattle U trails the all-time series 1-6 against Utah Tech dating back to their first meeting in 2021.
  • The Redhawks opened the series with a win on Feb. 22, 2021, downing the Trailblazers in straight sets at home. 
  • In their most recent meetings, the Trailblazers took both matches in 2023, last besting the Redhawks in Seattle on Nov. 9, 2023.
SEATTLE U RECORD BOOK RANKINGS
A number of Redhawks are among the program's Division I era leaderboard in numerous career statistical categories: BILBY NAMES PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Senior outside hitter Arianna Bilby was named to the nine-member Preseason All-Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Team as voted on by the league's nine head coaches. An Arlington, Wash., native, Bilby is entering her senior season with the Redhawks. She is coming off of a standout junior season where she finished second in the WAC and 32nd in the nation in attacks per set (11.01) and third in the WAC in kills per set (3.56). She led the Redhawks in points and kills while recording 11 double-doubles and earning a trio of All-Tournament Team selections.

UP NEXT
The Redhawks remain in the state of Utah through the weekend, traveling up the road to Cedar City for their second meeting with Southern Utah on November 2. The match will air live on ESPN+.

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