SEATTLE - Seattle University volleyball celebrated its home arrival to the West Coast Conference with record breaking attendance at the Redhawk Center on Thursday night. An electric atmosphere of 696 volleyball faithful guided the Redhawks (6-8, 0-3 WCC) to an opening set victory over visiting Washington State, but the match would land in the Cougars’ (9-4, 3-0 WCC) favor 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 12-25, 17-25).
Sophomore Madyn Cervellera commanded the Redhawk offense once again, pushing her double digit kill streak to 11 straight matches. The Lake Stevens native posted 11 kills and finished two digs shy of a double-double, registering eight digs on the night. She matched her season high 3.0 blocks while also picking up an ace.
Junior Teagan Melton added eight kills, registering a .300 hitting percentage on 20 attacks and two errors. The opposite also added 2.0 blocks on the defensive end. Fellow junior Adee Butler posted five kills while collecting an ace and two digs.
Middle blockers redshirt junior Yasemin Elmas and redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Gotsch combined for 10.0 blocks, picking up 5.0 total blocks each. Gotsch registered a new career high three solo blocks. Elmas and senior Marley Hardgrave were also pivotal on the offensive end, recording a combined eight kills for SU.
Three separate Redhawks posted two service aces on the evening. Elmas matched her career high with two, while freshmen Petra Fritz and Katelynn Albano matched their upperclassman with two aces a piece.
Orchestrating the Redhawk offense were redshirt junior Elif Teksoy and sophomore Grace Jones. The pair tallied 29 assists, with Jones leading the duo with 15. Patrolling the floor was Albano, who led all players with 15 digs.
Seattle U combined for 33 kills, 33 assists, nine aces, 42 digs and 10.0 blocks, leading the Cougars in blocks by two.
The Redhawks opened the match with resounding momentum behind a packed home crowd. After leaping out to a 9-2 lead behind blocks from Gotsch and Hardgrave and kills from Cervellera, the Cougars began to chip at the lead before Melton put the Redhawks on a 5-1 run. Seattle U built its lead to ten, 20-10, with an ace from Elmas before Washington State scored six of the next eight points. Melton righted the offense with a kill before contributing on the defensive end with a block alongside Elmas to force set point. Hardgrave shut the door behind the roar of the crowd to take set one 25-17.
The two teams settled in for the second set in an early back-and-forth, trading four ties through the start. A 3-0 run from the Cougars, backed behind two aces, broke through the to trade off, leading the Redhawks 14-11. An ace from Butler pulled Seattle U back within a point, but WSU surged back ahead with a 3-1 run. Cervellera battled the Redhawks back within one from the service line with her ace, 20-19, before the Cougars ended the set on a 5-0 run to even the match.
WSU carried its momentum from the second set into the third, pushing its lead early 8-2 to force a Seattle U timeout. The Cougars worked quickly to curb any Redhawk runs while simultaneously grabbing a 8-1 run. A pair of blocks from Gotsch and Melton put the Redhawks on a 3-0 run late in the set but the Cougars would emerge with the 2-1 lead after securing the third set 25-12.
Seattle U swung first in the fourth set, jumping out 3-0 highlighted with back to back kills from Butler and Melton. WSU turned the tide behind a run of its own, claiming the 7-4 lead to force a Redhawk timeout. Elmas pulled the Redhawks within one with her second ace of the match but Washington State would go on to score the next six points. Trailing by as many as eight, the Redhawks avoided match point with a kill from Cervellera before Washington State iced the match 3-1 with a 25-17 victory in set four.
The Redhawks return to action on Saturday afternoon, traveling down to I-5 rival Portland for a 1 PM meeting at the Chiles Center.
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