LACEY, Wash. – The Saints couldn't have started the match any better, opening with a 20-3 run and cruised to a 25-16 set victory; however, Concordia regained their form and rallied to win three straight sets and the match, 25-19, 25-20, 25-12, in SMU's home opener.
 
The Saints (2-7, 0-3) who have been on the road for the opening three weeks and eight matches, finally got to play in front of their home crowd on Thursday night, and SMU started off with a bang. An opening 20-3 put the Saints in the driver's seat against Concordia (6-4, 3-0), but the Cavaliers turned the switch and controlled the match from that point on. CU outscored the Saints 88 to 56 over the course of the match to secure the road victory over SMU.
 
Two service aces by Courtney Misner helped the Saints quickly gain momentum in the first set, and after a Concordia side out, Megan Vernoy began an impressive 10 straight service streak. Over that run, Annika Briggs collected four kills to power SMU to a 14-1 lead. After extending the lead to 20-3, Concordia managed to build momentum with a 10-0 run; however, kills by Bridgette Bourgouin and Vernoy clinched the set victory.
 
Concordia flipped the script in the second set, beginning the set with an 11-2 run. The Saints chipped away and cut the score to two with a 9-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back aces from Vernoy. The Saints managed to eventually trim the lead to one on three separate occasions, but never were able to tie the match up as Concordia won the set 25-19.
 
In the critical third set, the Saints looked to have rediscovered their offensive form from the first set, jumping out to an 8-4 lead. Kills by Rachel Gondrezick, Briggs and Vernoy fueled the Saints' push. The Cavaliers once again struck back and managed to tie the set at 9-9. The set recorded four ties and three lead changes until the Saints cut the score to 23-20 on kills by Jordan Keane and Vernoy. The Cavaliers closed out the set with a kill and ace to take a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth and final set went all Cavaliers. The Saints fell behind early and a 7-0 run by the Cavs helped push Concordia to their third straight set victory and third match victory in a row.
 
Gondrezick led the team, and match, with 13 kills and recorded five digs. Vernoy wrapped up with 12 kills and four aces, while Molly Cichosz and Briggs had eight and seven kills respectively. Alyssa Bartlett put together 33 assists while Misner ended with 32 digs, blowing her career-high out of the water (23), and finished tied for seventh most in school history.
 
The Saints remain at home, hosting Western Oregon on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. inside Marcus Pavilion on the TwinStar Court. Live stats and video of the match are available for free on smusaints.com.