BILLINGS, Mont. – Saint Martin's entered the weekend tournament at MSU Billings uncertain what might transpire over the course of their first four games. Two days, and four victories later, the Saints leave Billings with their best start since 2016 at 4-0.
 
Tia Allen was named the tournament's MVP and joined Kylie Alos on the All-Tournament team.
 
At sun rise, the Saints (4-0) began the day of action against Black Hills State (1-2), and it took some time for the Saints to wake up. They dropped the first two sets to the Yellow Jackets before turning the tide in the third set. Saint Martin's rolled in third set, 25-to-12, before rattling off 25-to-18, and 15-to-7 scores to reverse sweep BHSU and remain perfect.
 
In the finale against Bemidji State (0-4), the Beavers opened with a 30-to-28 set to take an early lead. However, the Saints looked unstoppable for the rest of the match, cruising to 25-to-17, 25-to-21, and 25-to-13 set victories. Allen put up a tournament-high 21 kills to power the Saints' offense.
 
No defense had an answer for the electric freshman Allen, who finished with 37 kills over the two matches today, and 58 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.
 
As explosive as Allen was at the net, junior libero Kylie Alos was just unbreakable in the back row. Over the four matches, Alos collected 89 digs for an average of 5.6 digs per set, including 28 against Bemidji State in the finale.
 
Kylie Coon ended the tournament with the team's second best 45 kills, reaching double-digits in three of the four matches. Coordinating the offense most of the tournament was freshman Analise Hitchcock, who racked up 109 assists at 6.81 assists per set, and five service aces.
 
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 tournament. Meanwhile, Emily Gooding was third on the team at 40 kills, along with nine blocks.
 
Saint Martin's continues their road trip next weekend, traveling to Hawai'i for a four-game two-day tournament starting Friday, September 10.