PORTLAND, Ore. – After falling behind in the first two sets, the Saints' offense came alive in the third set, collecting 19 kills and forced a fourth set. Concordia regrouped and managed to set down the Saints' comeback attempt in the fourth set to win 3-1.
 
Megan Vernoy put together 16 kills to lead the Saints (3-15, 1-11) as Saint Martin's, despite falling in four sets, put together a respectable 51 kills and .273 hitting percentage showing. Concordia (9-10, 6-6) managed to stay just ahead of the Saints all night along, hitting 59 kills and .336 hitting percentage as a team.
 
The Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead in the first set, 9-3, and never looked back. Their lead stretched to as many as 11 before CU wrapped the set with a score of 25-15.
 
Once again Concordia used an early run to establish control in the second set, leading 11-3. The Saints managed to trim the score to 18-15 after a 9-2 run, highlighted by two service aces by Courtney Misner. Later in the set, a kill by Rachel Gondrezick, the Saints were within one at 22-21; however, the Cavaliers closed out the set on a 3-1 run and secured the 25-22 win.
 
In the third set, the Saints' offense continued the momentum they began building in the previous set. Both sides traded point for point, with Concordia holding the slight 17-15 lead. The Saints rattled off eight of the next ten points, and used the late run to win the set 25-21.
 
In the final set, Concordia capitalized on a couple SMU errors, resulting in an 8-1 run to pull away midway through. The Saints responded right back and was able to close the gap to one; however, were never able to get over the final hump and fell to Concordia in four set.
 
"Today we just started slow and then really started to fight," said head coach Jon Killingbeck. "We played well in sets three and most of set four I thought. We have some things to work on Monday, but have a quick turnaround with a Tuesday match."
 
Vernoy pieced together one of her best matches in conference play, hitting for 16 kills and a .379 hitting percentage. Gondrezick finished with 12 kills, 10 digs and four aces, while Ililani Kamaka and Alyssa Bartlett combined for 15 kills. Bartlett also led the team in assists with 31, and Misner led SMU in digs at 26.
 
The Saints return home to host Seattle Pacific on Tuesday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video of the match will be available on smusaints.com.