BURNABY, B.C. – The SFU Red Leafs, led by senior middle Kalyn Hartmann (Langley, B.C.) and junior outside hitter Brooke Dexter (Anchorage, Alaska), were phenomenal Thursday night, taking a straight-set decision over the Western Oregon Wolves in front of their home fans at the West Gym in Burnaby, B.C.
 
The contest was lopsided early, with SFU taking the first two frames by 25-18 and 25-15 margins. The Wolves gave the Red Leafs everything they could handle in the third set, but the Red Leafs eventually earned a 28-26 decision to take the match.
 
Dexter and Hartmann each delivered a game-high 11 kills for SFU. In a remarkable performance, Hartmann made no errors on 15 swings for a .733 attack percentage.
 
Dexter added a solo block and two block assists to end the night with 14 points. Sophomore setter Eva Person (Brentwood Bay, B.C.) was an all-around star in tallying 31 assists to go with 10 digs and a game-high three aces. Sophomore libero Macyn Unger (Prince George, B.C.) led Canada's NCAA team with a dozen digs.
 
The SFU defence was formidable all night, keeping WOU to a .189 attack percentage on just 95 kill attempts collectively. The visiting Wolves did put up nine blocks in the game, led by Bella MacLellan, who recorded five block assists. Madison Hornback posted eight kills to lead WOU.
 
"I thought our side-out game was definitely improved from our last match. It was something we worked on this week in practice," said SFU head coach Gina Schmidt. "Our setters did a good job distributing the ball, and our hitters found ways to score."
 
The first set was hotly contested in the early going, with the two sides trading blows before arriving at a 14-14 deadlock. Then, keyed by a kill from sophomore middle Ezawa Malish (Coquitlam, B.C.) and then back-to-back bullets from Dexter, SFU closed out the set on a dominant 11-4 run, a stretch that was capped by a Malish-Dexter combo block.
 
SFU took less time to pull away in the second stanza. Up just 13-11 and with the Wolves having a bit of momentum, the Red Leafs ripped off 5-0 run that saw Dexter and Hartmann notch kills, while Unger dropped two beautiful aces into the Wolves' court. Up 20-15, SFU ended the set on another 5-0 run, with a pair of Hanna Kolof (Sr. OH, Vancouver) aces and Jocelyn Sherman (Jr. OH, Victoria, B.C.) kills sparking the Red Leafs' offensive punch.
 

There wasn't much separation in the final set. SFU held 10-6 and 15-11 leads, before Western Oregon put together a 9-2 surge to go ahead 20-17.
 
The two sides traded blows again in the late stages of the set, with kills from SFU junior opposite Sophie Lachapelle (Kelowna, B.C.) and WOU's Sarah Strus pushing the teams to a 26-26 stalemate. SFU got their penultimate point off a Strus miscue before Person delivered a perfect serve to seal the result with her third ace of the night. The Red Leafs had nine aces Thursday compared to one for the visitors.
 
SFU will be looking to complete a perfect weekend on Saturday, October 14, as they welcome the Saint Martin's Saints to West Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Tickets can be bought online at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-volleyball-vs-saint-martins-university-tickets-679592478397

For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
 
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