FAIRBANKS, ALASKA – Despite playing up in the tundra, the Saints were unable to cool off Alaska's red-hot offense, falling in straight sets on Thursday night.
 
Alaska (17-12, 10-7) combined to hit for .344 as a team, including two sets north of .400. Saint Martin's (10-17, 3-14) was led by Maddy Gooding's eight kills on 14 swings up the middle. Emily Gooding with seven kills, and Jennifer Soha, and Kylie Coon combined for nine kills on 33 swings.
 
The Nanooks quickly jumped out to a commanding lead in the first set, using a 9-0 run to open a 15-5 lead. The Saints were unable to find any offense, falling 25-10 down the stretch.
 
Saint Martin's rebounded in the opening of the second set on three kills from M. Gooding to put SMU on top 6-5. However, Alaska made the necessary adjustments throughout the frame, and cruised to a 25-16 victory.
 
Alaska held a 12-6 in the third set before the Saints managed to trim the lead down to two at 13-11. But a 9-4 run allowed Alaska to close out the match with a 25-17 result.
 
Saint Martin's as a team hit .065 with 29 kills, and 22 errors on 107 attacks. Analise Hitchcock led the team with 28 assists, and Kylie Alos ended with 10 digs.
 
The Saints' final match of the 2021 season will take place on Saturday, November 20 at Alaska Anchorage. First serve is scheduled for 8:00 PM PT with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.