LACEY, Wash. – A total of seven points separated the Saints and Wildcats over three sets; however, it was Central Washington come away from Marcus Pavilion with the three-set victory.
There was no shortage of drama as all three set came down to the wire between the two squads. Late heroics from Ashley Kaufman led Central Washington (14-7, 10-5) to the 25-23, 28-26, 25-22 victory.
Emily Gooding and
Maddy Gooding combined for 17 kills, with Maddy adding four aces, six blocks, five of which were solos. Her five solo blocks were tied for second most in program history.
The largest lead in the opening set was just three points. Saint Martin's led late at 18-15 and 23-21 before Central Washington rallied around a kill and two aces from Kaufman to come from behind and take the set.
Saint Martin's jumped out early to a 7-4 lead before CWU responded with a 6-1 run. Both sides went back-and-forth the entire rest of the way all the way to extra volleyball. SMU pushed out to a 26-25 lead on a kill from E. Gooding, until three straight kills from the Wildcats ended the set in favor of Central Washington.
In the finale, Central Washington opened up the largest lead of the game at 19-15. M. Gooding lifted the Saints on both sides with a solo block, and one of her six kills of the night to tie the match at 20-20. With another set coming down to the wire, it was Central Washington coming away with the edge 25-22 on errors by the Saints.
Kylie Coon added seven kills off the bench, followed by
Jennifer Soha at five kills, and
Tia Allen at four.
Analise Hitchcock led with 26 assists, and
Kylie Alos finished with 12 digs. Saint Martin's hit .178 with 34 kills on 90 swings and 18 errors.
Saint Martin's take the court at Marcus Pavilion for one final time in 2021 on Saturday at 5:15 PM. Live stats and video of the match will be available on smusaints.com.
