SAN FRANCISCO – In convincing fashion, the Saints carried over momentum from last night's win to sweep Academy of Art, 25-17, 25-21, 25-25-14, to begin the final day of the D-II Volleyball Showcase.
 
The Saints (2-3) carried on from last night's five set victory, progressive getting better throughout the match to clinch their second win a row. SMU's hitting percentage increased from .154 to .234 to .250 throughout the sets and Rachel Gondrezick led the team with 11 kills.
 
Academy of Art (0-7) jumped out to an early 5-1 lead; however, the Saints used a 7-0 run to tie and regain the lead. The Saints stretched the lead out to as many as nine in the set, with four different Saints supplying kills. SMU coasted to a 25-17 set victory.
 
The Saints once again used a run in the early goings to take a lead over the Urban Knights. After a 6-1 and 5-0 run by SMU, the Saints' lead grew to 16-9 before Art U managed to chip away. The Urban Knights closed the set to within two points at 20-18 before kills by Gondrezick and Alyssa Bartlett helped seal the victory.
 
In the final set, the Saints and Art U battled it out with the score in favor of the Urban Knights, 10-8. However, the Saints put together a run of 11 straight points to push past Art U and sweep the match.
 
"In this game, there are wins that everything flows, and there are wins that you have to grind out," said head coach Jon Killingbeck. "Today we had to grind out all match, but at the end of the day a win is a win."
 
Gondrezick, along with her team leading 11 kills, managed an impressive .429 hitting percentage and five digs. Ililani Kamaka also reached double-digits in kills with 10, and collected eight digs. Courtney Misner once again led the team in digs at 15 and Bartlett managed 31 more assists.
 
The Saints faced CSU Dominguez Hills later in the day to close out the D-II Volleyball Showcase Tournament.