HONOLULU, Hawaii – History was made for the Saints in Hawai'i. For the first time since the Saints joined the NCAA in 1998, SMU began the season 5-0 after defeating Hawai'i Hilo in four sets.
 
Fresh off her Yellowjacket tournament MVP, Tia Allen continued to dominate D-II opponents. The freshman collected a team-high 16 kills, 21 digs, and three aces. Saint Martin's (5-0) dropped the opening set to Hawai'i Hilo before locking down and taking the next three to claim victory.
 
The Saints trailed 13-to-9 in the second set before mounting a rally to eventually take a 22-to-21 lead. Both sides went back and forth until Saint Martin's managed to pull away at the end on a combo block from Emily and Maddy Gooding, and finally an ace from Allen to win 29-to-27.
 
An 8-0 rally in the third set gave Saint Martin's a comfortable lead that allowed them to pull ahead by as many as nine in the set. The Saints coasted to the 25-to-18 set three win.
 
In the final set, Hawai'i Hilo jumped out to a 6-to-2 lead before the Saints lockdown. Saint Martin's closed the set on a 23-to-9 run to put away the Vulcans and remain perfect on the 2021 season.
 
Emily Gooding was the only other Saint in double-digits for kills, finishing with 11, along with four blocks. Analise Hitchcock tallied 39 assists to lead the offense, and Kylie Alos, and Mahina Pescaia combined for 28 digs.
 
Saint Martin's begins their doubleheader tomorrow with a 1:00 PM match against CSU East Bay, followed by Hawai'i Hilo once again at 7:00 PM. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.