SEATTLE - For the second straight contest, Seattle University volleyball (4-16, 1-9 WCC) went toe to toe with one of the West Coast Conference’s leaders, but could not extend the match, falling to LMU (19-3, 10-1 WCC) 3-0 (21-25, 18-25, 16-25) inside the Redhawk Center on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman Orinayo Olukanmi led the Redhawks with five kills, while junior Hailey McEllrath paced the team with a .444 hitting percentage, combining for four kills on nine attempts with no errors. McEllrath has now gone three straight matches with no errors, tallying 13 kills on 22 attempts.The middle blocker also guided the team from the service line, posting two aces.
Freshman Mikayla Liljenquist guided the Redhawk offense with 11 assists, her second double digit assist performance of the season. Junior Grace Jones added six assists while picking up six digs. Liljenquist was one of five Redhawks to log an ace in the contest and finished the day with four digs.
Pacing the Redhawks from the service line was freshman Janae Demant, who recorded a match leading three aces. Demant also led the Redhawks on the defensive end with 10 digs.
Guiding the Redhawk block was senior Teagan Melton, who secured a match high 6.0 blocks. McEllrath followed just behind with 5.0 blocks. Freshman Linnaea Moore finished the day with 4.0 blocks to match her season high.
The Redhawks combined for 22 kills, 21 assists, eight aces, 35 digs and nine blocks, matching the Lions in blocks.
Seattle U trailed early in the opening set, facing a six point deficit before a kill from freshman Vai Unga and a block from Unga and McEllrath pulled the Redhawks within four. The Lions kept the Redhawks at bay through the middle of the set before a LMU error sent McEllrath to the line. McEllrath led off a 7-0 run, picking up an ace along the way to level the set 16-all. Carried on by the momentum, the Redhawks grabbed the lead off a block from sophomore Chloee Leslie and Moore to pace the Lions 18-17. The two teams entered into a back and forth exchanging four more ties before the Lions closed on a 4-0 run to take set one 25-21.
LMU jumped out to an 8-2 advantage in the second set before the Redhawks started chipping at the lead behind a block from Melton and Moore. An ace from freshman Tierney Ervin pulled the Redhawks within four as both teams fought for runs. The Lions built up their lead to seven following an ace before the Redhawks spun a 4-1 run with an ace from Demant and a kill from Unga. LMU came back with a 5-2 run to take set two 25-18.
Demant led off the third set with back to back aces to give the Redhawks the narrow 3-2 advantage at the start before the Lions responded with a 3-0 run. Kills from McEllrath and Unga wrestled back the one point lead to Seattle U before another burst from the Lions put LMU ahead 10-7. A late push from LMU put the Lions up by ten before the Redhawks crafted a 4-0 run to pull back within six, but the Lions would take the set and match behind a 3-0 run, 25-16.
Seattle U returns to action next weekend with a pair of road matches in the Bay Area. The Redhawks will face both San Francisco and Santa Clara for the second time this season.
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