LOS ANGELES - Sophomore Madyn Cervellera spelt out Seattle University volleyball’s resounding introduction to the West Coast Coast with a new career high and third 20+ kill performance of the season, but the effort could not push the Redhawks (6-6, 0-1 WCC) past LMU (3-7, 1-0 WCC) in the fifth set as Seattle U fell 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21,11-15) at Gersten Pavilion on Thursday night.
Cervellera secured her seventh double-double of the year behind 26 kills, a new career best, and 10 digs to lead both teams on the evening. She posted a .345 hitting percentage on 55 attempts while also tacking on 3.0 blocks.
Posing as a dual threat, redshirt junior Yasemin Elmas made statements on both sides of the ball, pacing both teams with 7.0 blocks. She also added five kills, an ace and three digs across all five sets of action. Senior Marley Hardgrave grabbed five kills while matching Cervellera with 3.0 blocks. Junior Taniyah Pruitt appeared in four sets and collected 4.0 blocks, the second most by a Redhawk on the evening.
Seattle U’s freshmen made statements alongside their upperclassmen, with Petra Fritz tallying seven kills, eight digs and 2.0 blocks. Freshman libero Katelynn Albano led the team with 14 digs while grabbing an ace, her third straight match with at least one ace. Alohalani Chun made her debut in the fourth set, picking up her first career kill in just the second point of action after subbing in.
Redshirt junior Elif Teksoy posted a season high 21 assists while picking up an ace and four digs. Sophomore Anae Asuncion added 18 assists and four digs to match Teksoy.
The Redhawks combined for 51 kills, 45 assists, three aces, 55 digs and 11.0 blocks. They limited LMU to a .171 hitting percentage, while leading the Lions in blocks by one.
Seattle U got moving early out of the gates, gaining the 15-11 lead into the first media timeout benefitting from a combination of LMU errors and surging offense led by Cervellera and blocking from Elmas and Hardgrave. Out of the break, the Lions turned the match around with an 8-1 run after securing the 19-16 lead. The Redhawks hit back with a 3-0 run capped by another kill from Cervellera to level the set late before a 6-2 run by the Lions put SU in an early set deficit.
The Redhawks responded by firing on all cylinders on both the offensive and defensive ends. They matched LMU at every turn through the early set. An ace from Teksoy and kills from Elmas and Cervellera put SU up once more at the media break, 15-12. A 10-5 run led by the Redhawks ended the set, as Seattle U combined for four kills and a block while taking full advantage of an abundance of Lion errors.
With one set a piece, the pair entered a tug-of-war in the third set, clambering for ties and one point leads through the sets entirety. LMU broke through to lead by as many as three before the Redhawks pulled back within a point. Hardgrave evened the set 21-all with a kill, but the Lions responded with a 4-1 lead to reclaim the match lead 2-1.
No stranger to extra sets, the Redhawks settled in, once again matching the Lions at every turn. They finally broke through behind a 4-0 run of straight kills from Cervellera to lead LMU 15-12 into the break and maintained at least a three point lead to cross 20 points. The Lions fought to bring the set within two, but another kill from Cervellera and a Lion error evened the match once more 2-all.
Appearing in their sixth five set match of the year, the Redhawks jumped out 3-1 early with kills from Cervellera and an ace from Elmas. A 5-0 swing from the Lions would turn the set in a 180 and the Redhawks faced a three point deficit. Trailing by as many as five, the Redhawks pulled back within three off LMU errors but the Lions forced match point. Cervellera responded with her 26th kill of the night to make it 14-11 in favor of LMU before the Lions put the match away 15-11 in the fifth set.
The Redhawks remain in Southern California for their Saturday meeting with Pepperdine. They take on the Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse on September 27 at noon before returning home to host their first home WCC match on October 2.
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