SEATTLE – Saint Martin's offense never found it's rhythm against the Falcons' defense, as SMU collected only 25 kills and hit .038 percent as a team in a three set match on Tuesday night.
 
The match began with a hotly contested first set 25-21, with Seattle Pacific (6-6, 4-1) just able to sneak past the Saints (2-9, 0-5). As the match progressed, the Falcons' defense was able to quiet the Saints' hitters and force issues as SPU cruised to a 25-17 and 25-13 match victory. Ililani Kamaka led the Saints with eight kills and also gathered seven digs, while Alyssa Bartlett set a career high in service aces with five.
 
The Saints had the early edge in the first set, with kills from Kamaka and Bridgette Bourgouin, leading 5-2. Seattle Pacific managed to tie the set at 8-8 before extending their first lead to five after a 6-0 run. SMU responded right away, making a 7-0 run, powered by three service aces by Alyssa Bartlett. The rest of the set remained close; however, Seattle Pacific managed to squeeze out the 25-22 victory.
 
The second set began tightly contested with SPU holding a slight 8-7 lead, despite kills from Molly Cichosz and Megan Vernoy. Seattle Pacific managed to break away in the middle set, extending their lead to as many as eight and clinched a 2-0 lead with a 25-17 victory.
 
In the final set, the Falcons established control right from the start, opening with a 14-4 run. Seattle Pacific's defense was able to shut down the Saints' offense throughout the set and limit SMU to 13 points in the 25-13 match victory.

"SPU played really well tonight in all aspects of the game," said head coach Jon Killingbeck. "We struggled to find our flow throughout the game and the match just got away from us."
 
Bartlett, highlighted by her service run with three aces, eclipsed her career-high of aces with five on the night. Kamaka led the Saints in multiple categories, finishing with eight kills and hitting percentage of .222, better than any of Saint with more than five attacks. Cichosz added five more kills, while Rachel Gondrezick and Vernoy combined for seven kills. Courtney Misner recorded 13 digs in the match, while Barlett and Hannah McKee combined for 20 assists.
 
The Saints return home for their GNAC match, hosting Montana State Billings on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video available through the Saints' portal on smusaints.com and the Saints' Digital Network.