LACEY, Wash. – Saint Martin's volleyball program moves their win streak to eight games after defeating Colorado Christian and Adelphi.
In the first game of the day for Saint Martin's (8-0), the Saints defeated Colorado Christian (3-4) in straight sets, 25-19, 25-17 and 25-22. Tia Allen was locked in, leading the team in kills (13), aces (3) and digs (11). Behind her, Loredana Fouonji (8) and Jennifer Soha (6) had their fair share of kills in the winning effort.
Abigail Halstead tied with Allen for the lead in digs with 11 and contributed an ace to the Saints scoring efforts. Maddy Gooding had the team-high in blocks with two and Karla Soto masterfully orchestrated Saint Martin's offense with 30 assists.
In the Saints' second match, they defeated the Panthers (3-4) in a five set nail-biter that had Marcus Pavilion rocking into the late hours.
In the first set the two teams kept the score tight through the early part of the set. SMU went on a 6-1 run that created some separation between the two team. Saint Martin's held on to the lead and went on to win the set 25-18.
In the second set, the Saints and Adelphi battled the entire set with both team having their fair share of chances to gain momentum. The Panthers capitalized on some opportunities late in the set to win it 25-23 and tie the match 1-1.
The third set proved to be a critical one for the Panthers. Adelphi's offense found their rhythm and jumped out to an early lead. SMU managed to fight their way back and trim the deficit to 22-19 but the Panthers used a crucial timeout to stall Saint Martin's momentum and regain their composure. Adelphi won the set 25-20 and took a 2-1 lead.
After their comeback efforts fell just short in the third set, the Saints showed great composure and stayed within striking distance the entire set. With the set all knotted up 24-24, Allen had the kill that gave SMU the lead and her and Soha walled up for the block that won the set 26-24 and tied the match 2-2.
In the final set, Saint Martin's had finally regained the momentum and jumped out to an early 3-1 lead. Adelphi quickly responded and took a 5-3 before the Saints called a timeout. After the timeout, SMU tied up the game and the two teams fought all the way to the end with Gooding sealing the win, 15-13, with an emphatic kill to keeping the streak alive.
Allen once again led the team in kills with 15 to go along with her three aces and team-high 17 digs. Gooding (12) and Emmy Hansen (10) made solid contributions to the kill total and Gracie Brenner's three kills were the late adrenaline shot the Saints needed to propel them to the victory. Soha lead the team in blocks with three and Karla Soto had the team-high in assist with 42. Mahina Pescaia also contributed some quality minutes late in the match and tallied five assists for her efforts.
Saint Martin's will wrap up the SMU tournament tomorrow with an afternoon game against Westminster at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at smusaints.com.
