SEATTLE - All three Seattle University volleyball seniors played a major role in the Redhawks’ (8-19, 2-14 WCC) construction of a thrilling five set victory (25-19, 25-12, 17-25, 21-25, 15-10) over Oregon State (18-9, 12-5 WCC) inside the Redhawk Center on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Marley Hardgrave and redshirt junior Yasemin Elmas commanded the defense with 8.0 blocks a piece, each recording two solo blocks. Redshirt junior Elif Teksoy excellently crafted the offense with 44 assists, her third highest assist performance of the year.
Elmas grabbed eight kills on 15 attempts and two errors, hitting .400 on the evening. Hardgrave hit .312 for six kills on 16 attempts with one error. Teksoy picked up an ace, a block and six digs, while Elmas tallied a career high eight digs.
Freshman Petra Fritz and sophomore Madyn Cervellera each posted double-doubles in digs and kills, with Fritz leading the team with 17 kills and 11 digs. Cervellera secured 13 kills and 10 digs, tying her career high with three aces. Also on the defensive end, Cervellera picked up 3.0 blocks, one shy of her season high. Fritz went for a new collegiate best 4.0 blocks while picking up her program tying single season record 46th ace.
Junior Teagan Melton went for seven kills and 5.0 blocks, which tied her career best in blocks. Matching Teksoy with two aces was fellow setter sophomore Grace Jones. Freshman Katelynn Albano recorded an ace and seven digs.
The Redhawks combined for 51 kills, 49 assists, nine aces, 52 digs and 17.0 blocks while holding the Beavers to a .147 hitting percentage and accruing a 63 side out percentage.
SU’s 17.0 blocks tied sixth all-time for total blocks in a single match with the last team to do so picking up 17.0 against Pacific in 2014.
Seattle U trailed the all-time series against Oregon State 8-0 since 2008 prior to Saturday’s win. The Redhawks had only gotten two sets off the Beavers in that time span, with the 2010 team falling to the Beavers in five sets. Saturday’s victory over Oregon State marks the first ever for the program.
The Redhawks settled in for a battle inside the Redhawk Center, opening the first set 5-3 behind back-to-back blocks guided by Elmas and Hardgrave. Oregon State leveled the set four times before breaking through the tie 10-8 built by a 3-0 run. Hardgrave and Melton teamed up for a block to even the set after a kill from Cervellera. The Redhawks would tie the first two more times before the media timeout, picking up two solo blocks from Hardgrave and Elmas into the break.
After OSU tied it 16-all, the Redhawks posted a 4-1 run built behind Fritz’s offense. A kill from Hardgrave pushed SU up 21-18 forcing a Beaver timeout. Out of the break, SU scored four to OSU’s one to take the set, with Cervellera grabbing two of her three aces in the surge to secure the first set victory 25-19.
The Redhawks carried their momentum into the second set, quickly jumping out to a 7-2 lead highlighted by a solo block from Hardgrave and an ace from Albano. A kill from Fritz forced the OSU timeout and the Redhawks took advantage of back-to-back errors to keep their lead up 9-3. After the Beavers pulled back within four, SU swung back with a 5-1 run led by Hardgrave’s block. A kill from Fritz built Seattle U’s lead to nine, 19-10, allowing the Redhawks to out score the Beavers 6-2 to close out the second set 25-12. Cervellera picked up three kills in the closing run, driving home the set point to give SU the 2-0 set advantage.
Oregon State spun the match on its head, collecting back two sets, limiting the fiery Redhawk offense through the third and fourth sets. After trailing 18-10 in the fourth, the Redhawks rallied late in the set to pull back within four 20-16. The Redhawks outscored the Beavers 5-3 in the closing eight points despite the Beavers taking the set 25-21, a pivotal moment to guide the Redhawks into the fifth set.
Melton struck first in the fifth before back-to-back OSU errors and an ace from Jones gave SU an early 4-1 lead. After a timeout from the Beavers, the Redhawks continued to play keep away, despite OSU’s attempted comeback. Leading 6-5, Cervellera and Teksoy put the Redhawks back up 8-5 with a kill and ace respectively before the teams swapped sides midway through the set. Oregon State came back within one, trailing 7-8, before Cervellera put the team on her back with a kill and ace to build SU’s lead 11-7.
The Beavers came back with two scores before Fritz cut them off with a kill. After their final timeout, the Beavers got one final kill before Elmas and Fritz teamed up for two kills to force match point. In a moment befitting Senior Day, SU’s pair of Turkish seniors teamed up to stuff the Beavers at the net, as Elmas and Teksoy came up with the final block of the afternoon to guide SU to victory 15-10 in the final set.
Seattle U concludes its first season through the West Coast Conference on the road, traveling to the Bay Area for a Wednesday meeting with San Francisco before closing out the year at Santa Clara.
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