LACEY, Wash. – 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.
 
Saint Martin's took a 10-8 lead in the first set behind a five-point run, fueled by two kills from Jennifer Soha. Simon Fraser managed to tie the match by 13-13, and eventually open up a four point lead. SFU closed out the set on two errors from the Saints to win 25-20.
 
Both sides were neck-and-neck in the second set at 10-10, when a 7-0 run by Simon Fraser put the set in their firm control. Saint Martin's managed to trim the lead down to as little as two, but ultimately fell 25-20.
 
Simon Fraser jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set, and pulled away with a 7-1 run halfway through to clinch the match 25-14.
 
Gracie Brenner led the way with nine kills, followed by Emily Gooding and Tia Allen at seven. Analise Hitchcock, and Zoe Balagot collected all 30 assists, with 15 coming from each. Allen was the lone Saint in double-digit digs at 10, followed by Kylie Alos at eight.
 
Saint Martin's hosts nationally-ranked Western Washington on Saturday, October 9 at 5:15 PM. Live stats and video can be found on smusaints.com. Tickets can be purchased at smusaintstickets.com.