SPOKANE, Wash. - Seattle University volleyball (3-5) came out hot against former West Coast Conference mate Gonzaga (4-6) on day one of the Zags Volleyball Classic. but the Redhawks could not snatch the win on the road, falling 3-1 (25-20, 17-25, 21-25, 18, 25) in the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre on Thursday evening.
Sophomore Chloee Leslie paced the offense with 12 kills, her second straight match in double figures and third overall double-digit kill performance of the season. Freshman Linnaea Moore added nine kills on 20 attempts, hitting a team leading .300. Both met their career bests in blocks on the defensive end, tallying 4.0 total blocks on the evening.
Sophomore Bella Jones and junior Grace Jones orchestrated the offense, with Grace leading the team with 22 assists. Bella added 18 assists in the effort while matching her career high in kills with two. The pair of setters each logged an ace and combined for 13 digs. In addition to Bella and Grace, two more Redhawks captured aces, as freshmen Elaina Duong and Janae Demant each notched one from the line.
Demant guided the defense with 15 digs while senior Taniyah Pruitt logged 5.0 total blocks in her second match since her return two weeks ago. Pruitt added five kills, hitting .375 on eight attempts with two errors.
The Redhawks combined for 49 kills, 47 assists, four aces, 50 digs and 10.0 blocks.
Seattle U opened the night in a back and forth with the Zags, trading six ties before the Redhawks crafted a 7-1 run with kills from Bella Jones and Leslie. Grace Jones led a 4-0 run from the line in that span, logging her ace in the effort. An ace from Demant made it a 17-10 Redhawk advantage before the Zags spun the momentum with a 5-0 run. SU came back with a 5-0 run of its own, led by Bella Jones at the line. Gonzaga pushed back within four 24-20 before Moore secured the first set with a kill 25-20.
The Redhawks kept up the heat into the second set, ensuring they led by at least two into the midway point. A kill from senior Teagan Melton gave SU a 14-11 advantage but a 4-0 run from the Bulldogs gave Gonzaga the narrow lead at the media break. The Zags kept up their pace out of the break, out scoring the Redhawks late into the set before taking it 25-17.
Mimicking the first set, Gonzaga took its momentum from the second set and jumped ahead of the Redhawks 9-4 before a SU timeout. Following the break, senior Adee Butler led off with a kill that spurred on a 7-1 SU run to reclaim the lead. Moore recorded three kills in that time span, while picking up a block along with Pruitt. A back and forth ensued after, as the two teams exchanged five ties before the Redhawks grabbed a 20-16 advantage following a 6-1 run. The Zags responded with a run of their own to take the third set 25-21.
A tightly contested, back and forth fourth set opened with narrow lead exchanges as the Zags and Redhawks wrestled for runs. SU went ahead 11-8 following a Melton kill before Gonzaga spun the set to lead 15-13 at the media break. Fueled from the previous two set comebacks, the Zags went on to claim the match victory with a 25-18 fourth set win.
The Redhawks return to action for day two of the Zags Volleyball Classic tomorrow, revisiting Montana for the second time this season. The pair square off at 2:30 PM.
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