SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Despite the effort from Kylie Coon, who ended with 15 kills, and an impressive .483 hitting percentage, the Saints were unable to overcome Concordia Irvine in straight sets, 25-13, 25-20, 25-20, on Saturday afternoon.
 
Wrapping up the Saints' action at the Division-II West Region Volleyball Showcase, Concordia Irvine managed to stave off the Saints' attempts of a comeback.
 
In the opening set, Concordia Irvine controlled all the way throughout, using an 11-4 opening run to set the tempo.
 
The second set proved to be a much more highly contested set, with the score being tied eight times. However, at the end of the set, Concordia Irvine found the last wind to edge past SMU to a tune of 25-20.
 
Saint Martin's and Concordia Irvine battled one more time in the third set, with the score gridlocked at 15-15. It was once again the Eagles finding a way to secure the victory with a run at the end.
 
"Tonight was better as we saw some good things out our athletes," said head coach Jon Killingbeck. "Right now, we are like a football team that has not quite put four good quarters together, but it's coming."
 
Coon supplied most of the offense for SMU in the match, recording nearly a season high in kills at 15. Bridgette Bourgouin led the defense with five blocks to go along with her three kills and two aces. Alyssa Bartlett and Emily Kinsley-DeLeon combined for 25 assists at the setter position, while Kylie Alos had 13 digs in the back row.
 
Saint Martin's concluded their non-conference season with this match, and returns home for their 2019 home opener against Alaksa on Thursday. Live stats and video of the match will be available on smusaints.com.