SEATTLE, Wash. – The Saints battled back after dropping the first set to take a 2-1 advantage before eventually falling in the fifth set to Seattle Pacific (25-16, 24-26, 19-25, 25-17, 15-7) on Tuesday.
 
The Saints (6-7, 1-4 GNAC) charged out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set behind kills from Rachel Gondrezick and Emily Gooding. The Falcons (8-5, 3-2) with a 12-4 to gain control of the set and went on to end 25-16.
 
In the second set, both teams were locked at 9-9 before SPU went on a 5-0 run to secure a 14-9 lead. Rebecca Mitchell ended the run with a kill and thus sparked a Saints' run to tie the set again at 16-16. The Falcons responded by taking five of the next seven points to lead 21-18. After trading points to 23-20, Mitchell delivered with a kill, which lead to a Gooding kill then back-to-back SMU blocks to give SMU a 24-23 lead. The Falcons tied the set up on a kill; however, Megan Vernoy gave the Saints their 25th point and a block from Gondrezick sealed the 26-24 victory.
 
The third set started with a 7-6 SPU edge before Saint Martin's Mitchell tied the set with a kill, sparking a 6-0 run for the Saints and a 12-7 lead. SMU managed to extend their lead out to 18-11 on a Gooding kill en route to their 25-19 set victory.
 
With the Falcons' down to their final set and the fourth set beginning with a 10-10 gridlock, Seattle Pacific rallied behind a 9-2 run to force a fifth and deciding set.
 
The Falcons struck the final blow quick in the fifth set by jumping out to an 8-1 lead before switching sides. After a kill for Mitchell and a SPU attack error brought the Saints to within five points, SPU answered back with a 5-0 run to secure the 15-7 set and match victory.
 
"Tonight we played a good Seattle Pacific team to five sets on their home court," said head coach Jon Killingbeck. "We did some really good things tonight but we just did not finish. With that said, I can say we are growing every match."
 
Leading the Saints for the six straight match in kills was Rebecca Mitchell with 13, followed by Emily Gooding at 10 and Gondrezick with 9. Langford lead the team with seven blocks while Gooding and Gondrezick recorded five and four blocks respectively. Jordan Keane managed a team-high 27 assists with Hannah Neumann tallying 22 digs.
 
The Saints travel to Montana State Billings for their next GNAC match on Saturday, September 30. Match is set to start at 6:00 p.m. PST and live stats and video will be available with links located on smusaints.com.