SEATTLE - Sophomore Chloee Leslie’s new career high in kills and the Seattle University volleyball stout block delivered the Redhawks (5-18, 2-11 WCC) to the 3-1 (25-11, 23025, 25-18, 25-14) victory over Pacific to sweep the Tigers (4-22, 0-14 WCC) in the regular season inside the Redhawk Center on Thursday night.
Leslie hit .333 on the evening, securing a match leading 19 kills on 42 attempts with five errors after recording 10 kills in the first set. The outside hitter grabbed two aces, eight digs and two blocks to fill out her stat sheet against the Tigers.
Also going for double-digit kills for her second straight match was freshman Vai Unga, who hit .381 on 21 attempts for 10 kills and two errors. Fellow freshman Orinayo Olukanmi logged nine kills, hitting .368 on 19 attempts with two errors. Olukanmi recorded 4.0 blocks to match her season high.
Guiding the Redhawk offense was sophomore Bella Jones, who grabbed her second double-double in as many matches, recording 21 assists and 10 digs. Jones was one of five Redhawks with an ace. Fellow setter, junior Grace Jones, led the match with 25 assists, while ending the night with an ace and five digs.
Patrolling the floor was freshman Janae Demant, who led the team with 13 digs. Demant finished two assists shy of a double-double, picking up eight assists.
Leading the Redhawks from the service line was junior Hailey McEllrath, who recorded four aces. McEllrath added seven kills, hitting .333 on 12 attempts with three errors. The middle blocker was also pivotal on the defensive end, recording 3.0 blocks.
Senior Taniyah Pruitt paced the Redhawk block and the match with 6.0 total blocks. Pruitt also hit .556 on nine attempts, picking up five kills and no errors. Senior Teagan Melton matched McEllrath with 3.0 blocks and hit .438 on the night, recording eight kills on 16 attempts with one error.
The Redhawks combined for 59 kills, hitting .344 on 125 attempts. They recorded 54 assists, nine aces, 43 digs and 9.0 blocks, pacing the Tigers by 18 in kills, seven in aces and 2.0 blocks. Seattle U held the Tigers to a .149 hitting percentage.
Leslie led off the match with a trio of kills to put the Redhawks ahead early 4-1. Seattle U spun another 4-1 run capped off with kills from McEllrath and Melton to lead 9-5 before a Leslie kill sent McEllrath to the line up 12-7. McEllrath led a 6-0 run, picking up two aces along the way to build the Redhawks lead to 11, 18-7. After a Pacific timeout, the Redhawks closed on a 5-3 run to take set one 25-11 following a kill from Unga.
The Redhawks carried the momentum into the second set, leaping out ahead 6-1 before the Tigers wrestled back within one approaching the middle of the set, 9-10. Pacific kept up the pace to level the set 12-12 before exchanging five more ties with the Redhawks. Pacific got the go ahead 19-17, advantage with a 4-1 run but the Redhawks would could back to tie the match with their block 20-20. The Tigers closed on a 5-3 run to level the match at one set each with a 25-23 second set win.
Pacific opened with the early third set lead 5-1 before the Redhawks came back with a 4-0 run following a timeout, capped with a block from Leslie and Pruitt. The two teams would exchange five more ties until the Redhawks crafted a 5-0 run to lead 18-14 following an Olukanmi kill. Seattle U closed on a 6-1 run with kills from McEllrath, Melton and Leslie to take the third set 25-18.
The Redhawks pounced early in set four, leading 8-5 before spinning a 4-0 run with Grace Jones at the line. The setter ended the surge with an ace to lead the Tigers 12-6. Pacific battled back within three before a kill from Leslie and an ace from McEllrath pushed the Redhawks back up by six, 16-10. Pruitt led a late 4-0 run with a pair of kills before her block with Olukanmi put the Redhawks up 22-13. Seattle U closed on a 3-1 run, capping off the night with a pair of kills from Olukanmi and Unga to secure the match in four sets.
Seattle U closes its home slate with its Senior Day match against Saint Mary’s on Saturday, November 14 at 1 PM.
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