Seattle University Volleyball took on Oregon State Nov. 22 on Senior Day in a nailbiting five-set matchup that ended with the Redhawks going home victorious. With a score of 3-2, the team secured the program’s first win over Oregon State.
This matchup wasn’t only about competition though, as friends and families gathered in the Redhawk Center to celebrate the three graduating players on the team.
Marley Hardgrave, a middle blocker/right side from Bend, Ore., has spent all four years with the Redhawks. During her time at Seattle U, Hardgrave was named to the Academic All-WAC in 2022 and Academic All-District in 2023. The middle blocker has appeared in 358 total sets over four years, picking up 421 kills and 311 total blocks.
Yasmin Elmas is a middle blocker that hails from Istanbul, Turkey. After redshirting her freshman year, Elmas has played 252 sets and amassed 367 kills and 201 total blocks.
Setter Elif Teksoy, like Elmas, is an Istanbul native. In her redshirt freshman year, Teksoy was named to the All-WAC Freshman team, starting in all 27 matches and playing all 97 sets. The setter has picked up 1756 assists in three seasons, including a career-high 55 against San Francisco Nov. 8 this year.
The game was looking like it was going to be a sweep after the Redhawks took an early two set lead, making easy work of the Beavers with scores of 25-19 and 25-12, respectively.
Oregon State didn’t take this lightly going into the third set. The Beavers took a commanding lead early in the third set, getting up by nine points, 5-14. The Beavers would hold this lead for the rest of the third set. Seattle U continued to trail during the fourth set, but after starting down 10-18, the Redhawks went on an offensive surge to get within four points of Oregon State, 16-20. Despite Seattle U outscoring the Beavers 5-3 in the closing points, Oregon State secured the fourth set 21-25.
It came down to a tie-breaking fifth set that began with the Beavers winning the coin toss, which gave them the first serving opportunity. The Redhawks struck first with a kill from junior right side Teagan Melton, followed by a few mistakes and an ace from sophomore setter Grace Jones, resulting in a 4-1 Redhawks lead. From there the set stayed close, but Seattle U was able to maintain the lead for the rest of the match, taking the fifth and final set 15-10.
“After beating them the first two sets, we knew they had to come out with other answers and, to their credit, they played really well in sets three and four,” Head Coach Dan Behnke said.
The conclusion of the match was emotional for the players on court as well as the audience, with lots of hugs and tears coming from both athletes and fans alike.
“Can you imagine a better finish than this? Finishing the block, I wanted to cry right there,” Teksoy said.
All three of Seattle U’s seniors played impactful roles in the team’s victory. Hardgrave and Elmas commanded the Redhawks defense, tallying eight blocks apiece, combining for 16 of Seattle U’s 17 total blocks. Teksoy was a major contributor to the Seattle U offense, tallying 44 assists, her third highest of the season.
“It’s been four years, and we gave so much to this program. I’m so proud of these freaking girls and I love them so much,” Elmas said.
Behnke had a lot to say when asked about the seniors’ impact on the program.
“It’s unbelievable, Elif [Teksoy] is by far one of the sweetest individuals, you will not find a sweeter person… She models what leadership looks like to underclassmen. Marley [Hardgrave], what a team player, she was a middle before I got here, we moved her to the right side, now we asked her to move back to the middle… Just an absolute team player. And Yasmin [Elmas], who is all heart… She cares so deeply about these players and about this team and the team’s success. I’m so incredibly proud of all three,” Behnke said.
The Redhawks look to bring energy from the win with them as they wrap up their season this week with two final games on the road; San Francisco Nov. 26 and Santa Clara Nov. 29.
“Looking to finish the same as we did tonight. We’ll take this momentum into next week and give it our all,” Hardgrave said.
