The Saints volleyball team kicked off their preseason preparations for the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) by participating in the De Luz Chevrolet Hawaii Fall Volleyball Challenge. The Hawaii Hilo Vulcans at Hilo, HI, hosted the event September 5-7.
Led by newly hired head coach Wade Taylor, the Saints finished the tournament with one win and three defeats, winning a 3-2 thriller in their opening match against Hawaii Pacific University before losing the rest of their matches in the tourney against Bemijdi State, 1-3, hosts Hawaii Hilo, 0-3, and Cal Poly Humboldt, 2-3.
It was a somewhat sluggish start to the preseason compared to last year when the Saints won twice and lost twice in the Westminster preseason tournament, before having their best season in the GNAC with a 10-8 conference record, clinching a hard-earned fifth place finish under longtime coach Dan Behke.
After last season’s historic feat, it seems like Taylor will have some big boots to fill as he steers the Saints to what could be another historic season. The Saints next participated in the Northwest Nazarene Tournament in Nampa, ID to wrap up their preseason.
After nine defeats in a row to the Sharks, the Saints finally beat Hawaii Pacific University in their opening match of the Hawaii Hilo Tournament, by way of a hard-fought five-set thriller, 3-2 (25-18, 15-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-7) at the Vulcan Gymnasium on September 5.
Last year’s preseason all-conference awardee Emily Garten led the attack for SMU as she tallied 19 kills, while Emmy Hansen had 12 kills and four service aces. Middle blockers Jennifer Soha and Daniela Gonzalez both had four blocks apiece, while Peyton Griffin had 23 excellent sets leading to points.
The Saints have faced the Sharks in preseason exhibition matches since 2000, with the latest being in 2015 in Honolulu.
After their win in the opener, the Saints lost their second game to Bemijdi State 3-1 (19-25, 19-25, 25-15, 23-25) on September 6. The Beavers’ Ashley Crowl burst to an impressive 24 points from 21 kills, three service aces, and two blocks.
It was a seesawing first set, as the lead swung back and forth. The Saints maximized their points from service aces, while Bemijdi piled in the kills. When the score reached 13-12, the Beavers pulled a 7-0 rally from errors committed by the Saints. The women from Lacey couln’t recover from that deficit, dropping the opener 25-19.
It was the same story in the second set as end-to-end action from two resolute sides reached a 20-19 slim lead for Bemijdi before the Saints committed crucial errors and failed to score again in the set. The Beavers took full advantage of a disheveled SMU to take the set 25-19.
The Saints had a lifeline in the third set as Garten and Hansen piled on eight service aces in total while also leading the front attack for the Saints to stun the Beavers and get one set back, 25-15.
But the Beavers called it a match in a close fourth set as both squads exchanged point-after-point up to the finale where a Rylie Bjerklie kill sealed the game for Bemijdi State, 25-23.
This was the first time the Saints lost to the Beave after winning their first two encounters in preseason tournaments in 2021 and 2023.
The Saints were then swept in three sets in their third tourney match against the tournament hosts Hawaii Hilo, 0-3 (16-25, 23-25, 21-25) on September 7.
Hansen and Garten combined for 27.5 points, but it just was not enough. Errors cost the Saints this crucial game against the Vulcans, as SMU gave up 20 points from errors compared to Hawaii Hilo’s 12.
After a lopsided first set, losing by nine points, the Saints kept the second set close. They overturned a seven-point deficit (15-8) to get within one point. trailing 22-21, thanks to efforts from the Saints’ dynamic duo. But the women from Washington just couldn’t seal the comeback, as the hosts took advantage of errors on the SMU side to take the second set 25-23.
The Saints fired up a great start on the do-or-die set, leading by as many as five points at 11-6 before a 6-0 run overturned the advantage. Back-to-back errors from the Saints turned a 13-10 lead into a 13-16 deficit. The Saints tried to keep it close, but they fell short and were swept in three sets.
The Saint Martin’s ladies closed their Hawaii tour with a thrilling five-set defeat to Cal Poly Humboldt, 2-3 (16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 15-17) on September 7 in the two teams’ first encounter since 2017.
The Lady Lumberjacks started strong in the opening set, as they scorched the Saints with a 0.474 hitting percentage while the Saints were held to 0.036.
It was in the second set that the Saints finally found their rhythm. Garten and Soha sustained early leads ballooning up to 21-16 before ending the set with a 25-22 win to tie things up. The momentum continued proceeding to the third set despite Cal Poly Humboldt's efforts to keep things close. Garten and Hansen powered the Saints through to clinch the set 25-22, one more away from what could have been their second win in Hawaii.
Unfortunately, the Lumberjacks forced a do-or-die set as they won the fourth, 25-18, Awelina Fakalata leading the attack. The momentum continued to favor the Lady Lumberjacks despite gallant efforts from the Saints in the deciding set, with SMU forcing ties between 8-8 and 14-14. Yet two consecutive errors at the crucial time decided the game, with the cherry on top being a service ace from Humboldt’s Aurora Meneghetti, and the Saints dropped their third game in a row.
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