SEATTLE - The Seattle University volleyball team (5-1) locked up a 3-0 weekend at the Courtyard by Marriott Seattle U Invitational behind a 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 25-27, 25-19) victory over Manhattan (1-5) on Saturday afternoon at the Redhawk Center. Sophomore Madyn Cervellera took home tournament MVP honors, while redshirt sophomore Teagan Melton earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
The Redhawks move to 3-0 at home and continue to build on their Division I historic start with five wins in their first six contests. It was SU’s first tournament sweep since 2022.
Cervellera grabbed 15 kills on 34 attempts to lead the Redhawk offense. Melton posted a .542 hitting percentage, accruing 14 kills. The pair also put Seattle U on the defensive, with Cervellera picking up a double-double in digs and kills, adding 13 digs. The Lake Stevens native also posted two blocks. Melton added five blocks.
Junior Adee Butler was the third Redhawk with double-digit kills on the afternoon, posting 11 on 22 attacks for a .364 hitting percentage. Her 3.0 blocks were a career high for the Idaho native.
Sophomore Grace Jones broke her career high for the second straight day, leading the Redhawks with 27 assists. Fellow sophomore setter Anae Asuncion posted 22, while contributing an ace.
Redshirt junior Yasemin Elmas grabbed a new career high with 12.0 blocks, including a career high tying two solo blocks and a new career high 10 block assists. The Turkish middle blocker also added eight kills and two aces.
Freshman Katelynn Albano tallied a new season high 19 digs, recording double-digit digs in all three matches of the weekend.
As a unit, Seattle U combined for 57 kills, six aces, 53 digs and 15.0 blocks. The Redhawks finished 1.0 block shy of tying 10th all-time in a match in DI history.
SU got off to a hot start, hitting .625 for 18 kills and 4.0 blocks. After a back and forth. The Redhawks a 6-0 run kickstarted by Butler swung the lead in favor of SU 12-8. Another run guided by a Cervellera kill nearly doubled-up the Jaspers as Seattle U secured a 19-10 lead with a block by Cervellera and junior Taniyah Pruitt. Manhattan hit back to pull within five, but four straight Redhawk kills secured set one 25-16.
A point for point second set was broken by a Cervellera kill and punctuated with an Elmas ace to lead 13-10. Seattle U would score three more times before Manhattan took a timeout. Out of the break, Cervellera would help add two more points with one kill to push the lead 17-11 in favor of the Redhawks. Not shying away, the Jaspers pulled back within three, 22-19 before Melton recorded set point. Manhattan avoided the end of the set, scoring twice before a kill by senior Marley Hardgave secured the 2-0 set lead.
Manhattan got its revenge in set three, after battling back once more from a late set lead by the Redhawks. An ace from Asuncion put the set 23-20 before a 3-0 run by the Jaspers leveled the third set 23-23. Manhattan clinched the set victory behind a 3-0 run to force a fourth set.
Fueled by their run at the end of the third set, Manhattan kept up the pace in the fourth set before a kill by Butler gave the Redhawks a 10-5 lead. An inspired 6-0 run led by freshman Petra Fritz at the service line pushed the lead to nine after a kill from Cervellera. The Jaspers strung together a run of their own to cut the lead 19-15 but another kill by Cervellera got the Redhawks to 20. The Redhawks ended the set on a 4-1 run with a kill from Butler to cap the weekend undefeated.
Seattle U returns to action next weekend, traveling for its third straight tournament. The Redhawks head to Illinois for the SIUE Tournament from September 11-13. They revisit Air Force for their first match of the weekend.
The Redhawks return home on October 2 for their first WCC home match of the season, hosting Washington State for their Volleypalooza match. Tickets are available for purchase at goseattleu.com/tix.
Courtyard by Marriott Seattle U Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Madyn Cervellera, Seattle U
All-Tournament Team:
Teagan Melton, Seattle U
Zariah Crosby, CSU Fullerton
Koen Makaula, Idaho
Fiona VanDyke, Manhattan
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