LACEY, Wash. - Behind Rebecca Mitchell's double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs, the Saints powered past the University of Alaska in four sets to tie the school record in wins in the NCAA era.

The Saints (8-11, 3-8) jumped out to an early lead in the opening set with two kills from Mitchell and Megan Vernoy each along with a service ace by Hannah Neumann. Alaska (9-11, 2-9) collected two points to cut the lead to 7-5 before the Saints went on a 6-1 run to establish a 13-6 edge. Rachel Gondrezick capped off the run with back-to-back kills. The Saints followed it with an 8-3 stretch to extend their commanding lead to 21-10, highlighted by kills from four Saints and two service aces. The Nanooks cut the score to within six before Liz Larson sealed the set victory with a kill.

SMU took the early lead once again, 6-4, before Alaska used a 6-2 run to take their first lead of the set at 11-8. Alaska, fueled by a .367 hitting percentage as a team, extended their lead out to six points before the Saints rallied to cut the score to within one point at 19-18. However, the Nanooks held off the Saints' attack and tied the match at 1-1.

An 8-0 run for Saint Martin's, powered by three kills from Mitchell, boosted the Saints to an quick 10-3 lead in the third set. A 6-1 run in favor of SMU helped extend the score to 17-8, and finally another 6-0 run clinched the set victory and forced the Nanooks into an elimination set. Six different Saints contributed with kills while the Nanooks struggled offensively with a -.083 hitting percentage in the set.

Saint Martin's dominated the early goings of the set once again, taking another commanding lead at 13-3, led by back-to-back service aces for Courtney Misner. The Nanooks did not go quietly into the night, mounting an impressive 13-4 swing to cut the Saints' lead to 17-16. After kills by Gondrezick and Mitchell looked to end Alaska's run, the Nanooks rallied to score seven of the next nine points to push within two points of forcing a decisive fifth set. Trailing 23-21, Larson and Emily Gooding combined for a block and the Saints tied the match on the following service ace by Mitchell. Larson came through once again for the Saints on the net with a solo block to force match serve for SMU. The Saints clinched the victory on a Gondrezick kill from Mitchell on the following serve. 

With the victory, the Saints' win total improved to eight, tying the school record for most wins in a single season since the Saints joined the NCAA in 1998. Also, all eight wins have come against D-II opponents, the most D-II wins in school history in a single season. 

Leading the way for the Saints was senior Rebecca Mitchell with her 15 kills, .389 hitting percentage, 10 digs, along with four blocks and four service aces. Gondrezick (11), Gooding (10) and Vernoy (10) each reached the double-digit mark in kills while Gooding posted a match-high .474 hitting percentage. Nicolette Nesbitt (25) and Jordan Keane (19) combined for 48 assists while Gooding led the Saints with seven blocks, part of the Saints' 14 total blocks. Hannah Neumann tallied 17 digs while four other Saints recorded five digs or more. 

The Saints will host Alaska Anchorage the following day, Saturday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available for the match on smusaints.com.