Box Score NAMPA, Idaho – A sluggish start plagued the Saints' offense in the opening set, but quickly regained their form in the second set; however, Northwest Nazarene was able to defend their home court in four sets on Thursday night.
 
The Nighthawks quickly put away the Saints in the opening set, capitalizing on SMU errors and taking it 25-10.
 
Saint Martin's responded in the next set, going from three kills to 16 kills. The bounce back gave the Saints enough power to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 effort.
 
Northwest Nazarene quickly found their footing in the third set, rushing out to a 19-10 lead. Saint Martin's managed to close the gap in the end but was not able to complete the comeback, dropping it 25-18.
 
The Saints and the Nighthawks went back and forth in the fourth set until the Nighthawks were able to put together a small run at the end to secure the match victory.
 
In her return to the court, Mackenzie Carter led the team in kills with 12, along with five digs, and one block. Alyssa Bartlett had an all-around match with 28 assists, seven digs, three aces and kills. Tianah Sanders and Gracie Brenner combined for 15 kills, while Kiana Pel recorded 15 digs.
 
The Saints travel to Central Washington for a match against the Wildcats on Saturday. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.