VB Team
Ron Smith

Saints Look To Get Back Into The Win Column With Two Road Tests

10/14/2021 1:59:00 PM

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FULL MEDIA GUIDE

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Projected Starting Lineup â€“

OH

Tia Allen

187 Kills

219.5 Points

181 Digs

RS

Emily Gooding

146 Kills

161.0 Points

25 Blocks

MB

Gracie Brenner

79 Kills

102.5 Points

27 Blocks

MB

Jennifer Soha

37 Kills

51.0 Points

27 Blocks

S

Analise Hitchcock

367 Assists

10 Aces

94 Digs

L

Giselle Benetti

15 Assists

14 Aces

206 Digs

DS

Kylie Alos

39 Assists

9 Aces

237 Digs

 
Saints Sputter In Three Set Loss To Simon Fraser - Saint Martin's offense came after the first set, but so didn't Simon Fraser's as SFU outpaced the Saints to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-14 victory inside Marcus Pavilion on Thursday night.

 

The Saints (7-8, 1-5) went from -.029 in the hitting percentage column to .275 in the second set, but Simon Fraser (9-4, 3-3) stayed right with the Saints. SFU went from .087 in the opening set to .405 in set two, and finally .343 in set three to claim the three set victory.

 

Gooding's 13 Kills Leads Saints In 3-1 Loss To WWU - For the first time since 2012, Saint Martin's managed to take a set off Western Washington, falling in four 25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19 on Saturday night.

 

Emily Gooding led the Saints (7-9, 1-6) with 13 kills, along with 13 digs, while SMU as a team collected 47 kills on 161 swings and 34 errors. Western Washington (9-4, 5-1) finished with 46 kills on 143 swings, but only committed 11 hitting errors.

 

Saints' VB Named GNAC Co-Team of the Week - An undefeated weekend, tournament MVP, two All-Tournament selections, and now the Saints' Volleyball team is the GNAC Co-Team of the Week on September 7. Off to their best start in five years, the Saints swept through their opponents in Billings to share the Team of the Week with Simon Fraser volleyball, who also went 4-0 in their tournament.

 

M-V-P M-V-P Chants! - No defense had an answer for the electric freshman Tia Allen, who finished with 58 kills in the tournament. Allen collected 4.53 points per set and led the team total with 72.5 points. Her eight service aces also ranked the best on the team. Not only did Allen dominate on the offensive side, she also was second on the team in digs at 53, and blocks at 10. She was named the Yellowjacket Invitational MVP.

 

GNAC Player of the Week - Kylie Alos, who was named to the Yellowjacket Invitational All-Tournament team after helping the Saints went 4-0 on the weekend. Anchoring the back line, Alos finished the weekend with 89 digs total, with a 5.56 digs per set average. In three of the four matches, Alos recorded 20+ digs, including a best of 28 against Bemidji State in four sets. It marked the first of her career.

 

0 To 100 Real Quick – Head coach Dan Behnke collected his 100th career win in just 157 matches with the Saints’ victory over Hawai’i Hilo on September 10.

 

Best Start In Program History – For the first time since the Saints’ joined the NCAA in 1998, SMU volleyball opened their season undefeated in their first five matches.

 

Leading The GNAC – Entering the week, Saint Martin’s ranks first in the GNAC in digs per set at 17.92, ahead of Northwest Nazarene’s 16.89. Saint Martin’s also ranks third in opponent hitting percentage, limiting teams to only .169. 

 

Among The Best In The West – Entering the week, Tia Allen ranks sixth in points per set (3.66), and seventh in kills per set (3.12) in the GNAC. Giselle Benetti sits fourth in digs per set (4.12). Kylie Alos is seventh in digs per set (3.95). Analise Hitchcock ranks eighth in assists per set (6.22).

 

Career Night – Against Western Oregon, where the Saints comeback to win in five sets, Emily Gooding registered a career-high 18 kills, and 19 points. Ilana Sagapolutele finished with a career-high 17 kills, and Giselle Benetti had a career-high 34 digs.

 

Saints Are Killin’ It – The Saints’ 69 kills against Western Oregon was the most by any SMU team since 2017 when the Saints put up 72 in a five-set victory over Central Washington.
 
New Era â€“ Saint Martin's volleyball begins a new era as Dan Behnke takes over as head coach. Behnke was hired back in February of 2020 and comes to SMU after coaching for five seasons at NAIA Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. During his time at Huston-Tillotson, Behnke went 94-52, including a 75-20 in the last three years. Prior to his arrival, Huston-Tillotson went 16-145 in a five-year span.
 
Sister Connection â€“ The Gooding sisters looked right in sync from the very beginning. Maddy Gooding tallied 20 kills, a team-leading 21 blocks, and six service aces over the MSUB tournament. Meanwhile, Emily Gooding was third on the team at 40 kills, along with nine blocks.
 
Meet The New Saints â€“

2

Abigail Halstead

DS/L

5-7

FR

San Antonio, TX / Louis D Brandeis

3

Mahina Pescaia

S

5-8

FR

Kailua, HI / Kamehameha Schools Maui

4

Tia Allen

OH

5-11

FR

Clayton, WA / Mt. Spokane HS

21

Jennifer Soha

MB

6-0

FR

Reno, NV / Green Valley HS

26

Kayla May

L

5-5

FR

Fairview, OR / Troutdale HS