ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Saints dropped the first two tightly contested set against one of the top teams in the region, Alaska Anchorage, before rallying to take the third set off the Seawolves. UAA managed to stem the comeback attempt and win in four sets.
 
The Saints' offense took two sets to find their groove, putting together 12 kills and only one error in the third set. The Seawolves struck back strong in the fourth and final set to clinch the 25-23, 25-18, 20-25, 25-10 match victory.
 
Saint Martin's gained control in the early goings of the first set, leading 9-4 on kills by Rachel Gondrezick and Ililani Kamaka. The Seawolves began chipping away at the Saints' lead throughout the set, and managed to tie the score at 22-22. A 6-1 run by UAA at the end of the set helped power them to a close set victory.
 
The score remained close in the second set until a quick 5-0 run by the Seawolves helped them open up an eight point lead. The Saints managed to trim the lead down to four on more kills by Kamaka, and Megan Vernoy, and also a block by Molly Cichosz. However, the Saints' run came too late and the Seawolves held on for a 25-18 win.
 
Alaska Anchorage led 7-4 in the third set before the Saints went on a tear, outscoring the Seawolves 9-2 to gain the lead. UAA managed to tie and even regain the lead in the set, 18-17, before once again, the Saints managed to pull away at the end. A 7-1 run by SMU, highlighted by blocks from Vernoy and Bridgette Bourgouin, and also a service ace by Jordan Keane, lifted the Saints to a 25-20 win.
 
The fourth and final set however, went all the way of the Seawolves, as UAA combined for 13 kills compared to the Saints' three, and only managed three errors to the Saints' six.
 
"Played a(n) (NCAA) tournament bound UAA team really tough tonight," said head coach Jon Killingbeck. "They are a good team but I think we showed through three sets that we can battle with a good tournament bound team. We have somethings to work on this last week, as we play our last matches of our season at home."
 
Kamaka, Gondrezick, and Vernoy led the team with nine kills each, while Keane had two aces, and Alyssa Bartlett had 19 assists. Courtney Misner collected 21 digs throughout the match, and Bourgouin and Vernoy had three blocks each.
 
The Saints' final week of the season will take place at home in Marcus Pavilion, as SMU hosts #2 Western Washington, and Simon Fraser. The Saints host Western Washington first on Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.