Benetti/Alos
Ron Smith

Saints Look To Stay Hot Against SPU/MSUB

9/29/2021 11:57:00 AM

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FULL MEDIA GUIDE

Live Stats/Live Video – 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.

 

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Ticket Information – 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 – 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 –

OH

Tia Allen

155 Kills

182.5 Points

148 Digs

OH

Ilana Sagapolutele

71 Kills

76.0 Points

20 Digs

RS

Emily Gooding

111 Kills

123.5 Points

22 Blocks

MB

Gracie Brenner

57 Kills

75.0 Points

21 Blocks

MB

Maddy Gooding

45 Kills

77.5 Points

42 Blocks

S

Analise Hitchcock

277 Assists

10 Aces

76 Digs

L

Giselle Benetti

14 Assists

13 Aces

176 Digs

 
Brenner and Soha Power Saints To 3-1 Victory Over Linfield - With two outstanding performances from their middle blockers Gracie Brenner, and Jennifer Soha, the Saints earned their first home victory of the 2021 with a 3-1 result over Linfield on Tuesday night.

 

The two proved to be an unstoppable force up the middle that the Wildcats (4-5) could never find an answer for. Brenner filled up the stat sheet with eight kills on 15 swings, along with seven digs, five blocks, and three aces. Soha, getting the start tonight, was a force at the net, collecting eight kills, and six blocks.

 

Saints Rally For Epic Five Set Comeback Victory Over Western Oregon - Trailing two sets to one, Saint Martin's offense exploded in the fourth and fifth sets to mount an epic 23-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-19, 15-8 victory over Western Oregon to improve to 7-5 on the season.

 

Hitters Emily Gooding and Ilana Sagapolutele led the Saints' (7-5, 1-2 GNAC) offense down stretch, combining for 35 kills on 80 swings. Tia Allen was the third Saint to finish with 15+ kills, along with her 19 digs. Giselle Benetti, and Kylie Alos also combined for a staggering 57 digs in the back row.

 

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 18.64, ahead of Northwest Nazarene’s 17.74. Saint Martin’s also ranks second in opponent hitting percentage, limiting teams to only .142. 

 

Among The Best In The West – Entering the week, Tia Allen ranks fourth in points per set (3.88), and sixth in kills per set (3.30) in the GNAC. Giselle Benetti sits third in digs per set (4.63), and tenth in service aces per set (.34), and. Kylie Alos is sixth in digs per set (4.15). Maddy Gooding ranks eighth in blocks per set (1.05).

 

Career Night – Against Western Oregon, where the Saints comeback 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 – 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 – 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 –

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