SEATTLE - A back and forth intra-state battle would not fall Seattle University volleyball’s (7-19, 1-14 WCC) way after competitive opening sets as the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-12, 7-8 WCC) disrupted the Redhawks 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 9-25, 16-25) inside the Redhawk Center on Thursday night.
Two Redhawks went for double-digit kills on the night. Freshman Petra Fritz paced the team with 20 kills, her second 20+ kill performance of the season. She finished three shy of her collegiate high, tacking on an ace and seven digs on the evening.
Sophomore Madyn Cervellera posted 12 digs for her 20th double digit kill effort of the year. The outside hitter tallied seven digs, 2.0 blocks and an ace through four sets of action
Junior Teagan Melton led the team hitting .450, combining for nine kills on 20 attempts with no errors. Senior Marley Hardgrave added an additional seven kills on 16 attempts, hitting .312 with two errors. Hardgrave led the defensive effort with her block, posting 3.0 on the night. Redshirt junior Yasemin Elmas matched Hardgrave with 3.0 blocks.
Freshman Katelynn Albano paced the team with nine digs, while redshirt junior Elif Teksoy added an additional eight. Teksoy orchestrated the offense leading both teams with 42 assists. The setter also went for 2.0 blocks.
The Redhawks combined for 52 kills, 48 assists, four aces, 43 digs and 6.0 blocks on the night.
After starting down early in the first set, the Redhawks rallied back to level the opener 3-all behind a block from Elmas and Cervellera. The Zags responded with a 9-1 run to lead 12-4 in the middle of set one. In turn, the Redhawks came out with a 5-1 run guided behind kills from Fritz and a block from Elmas and Melton. Gonzaga pushed its lead back up by five 20-15 before the Redhawks pivoted and swung hard behind Hardgrave, Melton and Cervellera to level the set 20-all. Another scoring surge secured set point for SU as Teksoy and Elmas broke the 23-23 tie with their block, but Gonzaga would not go down easily. The Zags secured the first set 28-26 behind a 5-2 scoring burst.
The Redhawks flipped the script through the second set, taking control early with scores from Melton, Cervellera and Fritz. Elmas grabbed the three point lead with a kill and an ace, while kills from Hardgrave maintained the gap after Gonzaga attempted to come back early in the set. Fritz put SU on a 4-2 scoring run with four kills, putting the Redhawks up 15-12 at the middle before Gonzaga came back to tie the set, forcing a SU timeout. Coming out of the break, the Redhawks scored three straight with a combination of kills and blocks from Hardgrave and Cervellera. After a Gonzaga service error granted SU set point, Fritz drove home a kill to even the match at one set a piece 25-22.
Gonzaga locked down the third set after an all out effort on both sides of the ball. A 9-0 run by the Zags put the Redhawks in an early deficit, with the Zags taking away SU’s offense with their block, while taking advantage of Seattle U errors. The Redhawks rallied to pull back within six, but Gonzaga took set two behind a 13-2 run.
Facing a 2-1 set deficit, the Redhawks bounced back to a one point lead before trading four ties with Gonzaga through the opening set. The Bulldogs broke the trade first with a 5-0 run, forcing the Redhawks to take a timeout. Cervellera and Melton combined for two kills to pull Seattle U back within three, but the Zags responded with an 8-2 run. SU chipped back with a block from Teksoy and Elmas and a kill from Melton, but the Zags would finalize the match in four sets behind a 4-1 run.
The Redhawks return for their final home match of the 2025 season, hosting Oregon State for their Senior Day at the Redhawk Center on Saturday, November 22 at 1 PM.
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