VB Celebration

SMU Volleyball Looks To Break School Record In Wins With Two Home Matches

10/27/2021 4:36:00 PM

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FULL MEDIA GUIDE

Live Stats/Live Video â€“ Live Stats of Saint Martin's Volleyball Games will be available with links found on smusaints.com. Live Video is TBA on a game-to-game basis. Live stats and video will be produced by the Host School.

Social Media â€“ Follow the Saints on Twitter (@smusaints_vb) for in game updates and follow SMU Athletics on Facebook (Saint Martin's Saints), Twitter (SMUSaints), Instagram (SMUSaints).
 
Ticket Information â€“ All Saint Martin’s home games tickets can be purchased online at smusaints.com. Skip the line at the gate by purchasing online, saving your digital ticket, and scanning it at the door!
 
Saints Digital Network â€“ The Saints Digital Network on YouTube is your home all Saint Martin's Athletics. Live stats and video broadcast are available of every home game this season for free and can be found on smusaints.com.


Projected Starting Lineup â€“

OH

Tia Allen

223 Kills

261.0 Points

213 Digs

RS

Emily Gooding

199 Kills

216.5 Points

82 Digs

MB

Gracie Brenner

105 Kills

142.5 Points

37 Blocks

MB

Jennifer Soha

61 Kills

83.0 Points

42 Blocks

S

Analise Hitchcock

501 Assists

14 Aces

122 Digs

L

Giselle Benetti

16 Assists

17 Aces

230 Digs

DS

Kylie Alos

48 Assists

10 Aces

292 Digs

 
Saints Roll To 3-1 Victory Over Linfield - Emily Gooding's 15 kills powered the Saints to a convincing 3-1 road victory over Linfield on Tuesday night.

 

Saint Martin's (8-11) snapped a six-game losing stretch with their 3-1 result. Gooding continued her double-digit kill streak, stretching it to four straight matches. As a team, Saint Martin's collected 49 kills on 19 errors for a .207 hitting percentage. Tia Allen ended with nine kills, and 15 digs, with Analise Hitchcock adding 40 assists, and Kylie Alos' 23 digs.

 

Saints Tie History In Sweep Of Western Oregon - Saint Martin's made history on Saturday night with their 3-0 sweep of Western Oregon, taking their ninth victory of the season, tying them for the most in a single-season.

 

Saint Martin's (9-11, 2-8) broke the record in 2017, and now share the company for the most wins in a single season since the Saints' joined the NCAA 1998 with the 2021 Saints. Emily Gooding for the fifth straight match recorded double digits kills, leading the way with 12, followed by Tia Allen at 11. Saint Martin's outpaced the Western Oregon (2-15, 0-10) in kills to a tune of 49-to-29. Kylie Alos led the Saints with 18 digs, followed by Abigail Halstead, and Allen with 11.

 

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 17.89, ahead of Northwest Nazarene’s 17.13. 

 

Among The Best In The GNAC – Entering the week, Tia Allen ranks eighth in points per set (3.53), and sixth in kills per set (3.01) in the GNAC. Kylie Alos is sixth in digs per set (4.06). Analise Hitchcock ranks seventh in assists per set (6.96). Jennifer Soha ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.293).

 

Career Night – Against Western Oregon, where the Saints came back 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