SEATTLE - Seattle University volleyball embarks on its first ever season in the West Coast Conference with two Southern California matchups lying in store this weekend. The Redhawks (6-5, 0-0 WCC) make their WCC debut against LMU (2-7, 0-0 WCC) on Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion at 6 PM before jumping down to Malibu with a head-to-head against Pepperdine (6-5, 0-0 WCC) on Saturday afternoon.
Seattle U completed one of its best starts since 2019, capturing six wins through the nonconference after finishing with eight wins on the season in 2024.
The Redhawks are led by sophomore Madyn Cervellera, whose 145 kills pace the team and fourth in the WCC. So far this season, she’s grabbed two 20+ kill games while recording seven double-doubles in digs and kills through 11 matches. Redshirt sophomore Teagan Melton is five shy of crossing 100 kills this season, sitting at 95 kills averaging 2.11 a set after appearing in all 45 sets in the nonconference.
Guiding the Redhawk offense are sophomore setters Grace Jones and Anae Asuncion. Jones leads the pair with 198 assists on the season, 19 shy of her season total from 2024. Through 41 sets this year, Jones has pushed into the top-10 in career assists since 2008, totaling 415 in two seasons with the Redhawks. Asuncion sits right behind with 181 assists so far this season and 406 assists in her career. The duo now rank eight and nine respectively in the all-time records in the Division I era.
Leading from the service line is freshman Petra Fritz. She leads all Redhawks with 18 aces so far this season, which ranks third in the conference, while her .50 aces per set ranks first in the WCC.
On the defensive side, junior Taniyah Pruitt leads the team with 50.0 blocks on the year, a new season career best. The mark also ranks third in the WCC, while her 14 solo blocks pace the league. Senior Marley Hardgrave paved her way into the WCC top-15 in blocks with 31.0 this season. Redshirt junior Yasemin Elmas sits in the top-10 with Pruitt with 40.0 blocks.
Locking down the floor is freshman libero Katelynn Albano. Her 122 digs lead the team while also ranking eighth in the conference. Cervellera also ranks top-15 in the league in digs with 102. Albano is also a pivotal piece for Seattle U’s serve posting 14 aces this season to rank in the top-10 with Fritz.
Seattle U’s blocking ranks second in the league totaling 100.0 so far this year. The Redhawks’ 30 solo blocks also sits second in the conference, trailing Gonzaga by three. They also sit tied-second in aces with Pepperdine, both teams recording 76 aces through the nonconference.
The Redhawks and Lions have met twice in program history, with the series starting in 2011. The pair last met in 2013 with LMU securing the 2-0 series edge. Conversely, Seattle U and Pepperdine meet for just the second time, last meeting in 2009. The Waves claimed the first series win that year.
LMU grabbed two wins to start the season, collecting a four set victory at home over Western Michigan and a five set win against New Hampshire in Texas. Both the Lions and SU seek to get back into the win column after dropping their last two matches. Like the Redhawks, Pepperdine collected a 6-5 record through the nonconference, highlighting the first month of action with a 3-1 victory over then ranked No. 19 UCLA. In three ranked matches, the Waves posted a 1-2 record.
Thursday night kicks off the inaugural season for Seattle U volleyball in the West Coast Conference. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+. Following the weekend in Southern California, the Redhawks return to home to host Washington State on Thursday, October 2 for their first ever home WCC match. Tickets for Volleypalooza against the Cougars are available for purchase at goseattleu.com/tix.
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