LACEY, Wash. - Saint Martin's could not break Central Washington's defense in a three set loss in Marcus Pavilion on Thursday night. 
 
CWU bolted out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and held on throughout the set, taking it 25-12.  
 
The second set began close, with the Saints coming within one at 5-4. However, the Wildcats capitalized on Saints' errors throughout the set, and ended on a 9-2 run to secure a 25-13 result. 
 
Central Washington took an early 5-0 run in the final set to establish a 6-3 lead. The Wildcats continued to add to their advantage with their strong offense and went on an 8-4 stretch to go up 14-7. The Saints slowly cut into the score but a timeout was forced at 20-12. SMU found a second wind and regained its traction out of the timeout with a 5-0 run, yet could not overcome Central Washington, dropping the set 25-16. 
 
Mackenzie Carter and Emily Gooding lead the offense for the Saints with four kills each. Bridgette Bourgouin led the defense with four blocks while Kylie Alos accumulated 11 digs. 

Saint Martin's returns to the court to host Northwest Nazarene at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats and video of the match will be available on smusaints.com.