Canes sweep Seattle University Redhawks to open FIU/Miami Challenge

Alexis Mourning (4) and Taylor Scott (22) block a spike from Seattle University on Thursday night. Canes won 3-0. Gian Piero // Contributing Photographer
Alexis Mourning (4) and Taylor Scott (22) block a spike from Seattle University on Thursday night. Canes won 3-0. Gian Piero // Contributing Photographer
Alexis Mourning (4) and Taylor Scott (22) block a spike from Seattle University on Thursday night. Canes won 3-0. Gian Piero // Contributing Photographer

The Hurricanes swept Seattle University in their first match of the FIU/Miami Challenge at the Knight Sports Complex Thursday night.

The Canes (6-3) led throughout the contest, taking the first set with ease before running into some difficulty later on in the matchup against the Redhawks.

“Every day we work hard in practice. All the things we worked on this whole week showed tonight,” redshirt junior Kelsie Groot said.

It’s the third win in a row for the Canes after the team took down No. 20 Purdue and Louisiana State University (LSU) last weekend at the LSU Tournament.

Senior Taylor Scott started the Canes off strong in the first set. Fellow outside hitters Groot and sophomore Olga Strantzali pounded the Redhawks with three kills each. Miami recorded 12 kills and eight digs on its way to a 25-14 win to go up 1-0.

In the second set, Seattle put on a stronger fight with powerful kills from Martina Samadan and Matea Mamic. The Canes weren’t intimidated. Rising to the challenge, Scott delivered four kills and two digs while freshman Lucia Pampana added three more kills. In the end, the Canes tallied up 15 kills and served two aces to claim the second set 25-20.

The Canes didn’t relent in third and finished the match with a 25-21 win. Groot led Miami with five kills in the final frame, but she received plenty of help from her teammates to seal the sweep. Six different players recorded a kill to close out the match.

The Canes ended the night with 43 kills and a confident start to the FIU/Miami Challenge.

The Hurricanes face Central Florida at 7 p.m. Friday night at the Knight Sports Complex.