LACEY, Wash. — The Saint Martin's Volleyball team lost its home match against Alaska Anchorage in five sets at Marcus Pavilion on Thursday, October 23.

After falling behind two sets to none, the Saints rode a huge wave of momentum behind an ecstatic crowd at Marcus Pavilion to even the match at 2-2 and force a fifth set — the comeback fell short as the Seawolves hit .571% in the final frame to defeat SMU 3-2. The loss dropped SMU's record on the season to 11-7 overall and 4-6 in GNAC play.

The five-set match between Saint Martin's and Alaska Anchorage marked just the second time in 51 meetings that the two schools have played to five sets.

How It Happened

• In the first set, the Saints built a quick 3-0 lead out of the gates, but the Seawolves bounced back with an 8-1 run to take an 8-4 lead. SMU came within a point at 11-10, but Anchorage pulled away by upwards of seven points and went on to win the first frame 25-18.
• The Seawolves took an early 5-1 lead in the second set, and held a steady lead for the majority of the set. The Saints pulled within 18-16, but went on to be defeated 25-17. 
• The third set started off close, as both teams exchanged points in a back-and-forth start that saw the Saints trailing by a narrow margin of 6-5. The Seawolves responded with a 4-1 run that put the Saints behind 10-6. SMU bounced back with four straight points to tie the set at 10-10. 
  • The Saints and Seawolves kept at a similar pace of exchanging points, as the set moved to 17-17. UAA built up a narrow 22-20 lead, prompting the Saints to use a timeout. Following the timeout, Zoey Crimin tallied back-to-back kills to tie the set at 22-22, prompting the Seawolves to use a timeout.
  • Each team exchanged points following the timeout, with UAA moving to match point at 24-23. Emily Garten responded with a kill to knot the game at 24, before the set moved to 25-25. An emphatic block by Hanna Ligons and Kingsley Mason put the Saints up 26-25 in a dramatic third set. The Saints earned the final point of the frame off an attack error, winning the third set 27-25 and forcing a fourth set. The Saints hit .343% as a team in the third set.
• The Saints came out with momentum in the fourth set, leading early and extending the lead to 15-9 midway through. SMU pushed the lead to 20-15, forcing a Seawolves timeout. SMU scored the next point, but a 4-0 run by UAA brought the game to 21-19. SMU rattled off an emphatic 4-0 run to close out the set and win 25-19, forcing a fifth set and bringing the crowd at Marcus Pavilion to its feet.
• The Seawolves took an early advantage in the fifth frame, and led 8-4 when the teams changed sides. The Saints trailed 10-5, taking a timeout, before the game eventually moved to 12-7 in favor of UAA. The Seawolves scored three consecutive points to close out the set 15-7, defeating the Saints in five sets.

Top Performers

• Emily Garten led the Saints with 21 kills and 12 digs.
• Tiffany Lam recorded 11 digs and Mia Arambula totaled 10.
• Hanna Ligons led the Saints with six blocks.
• Kaarina Geymann tallied 37 assists.

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