BURNABY, B.C. – After pushing the match's final frame into extra points, the SFU Red Leafs (14-9, 9-6 GNAC) finally fell in a hard-fought four-set match on Thursday evening, with the Saint Martin's Saints (16-9, 9-6 GNAC) coming out on top.

Final set scores were 16-25, 25-17, 25-21, and 26-24 for the host Saints.

Sophie Lachapelle (Kelowna, B.C.) continued her excellent run of form from recent weeks, notching a game-high 17 kills for SFU. Jocelyn Sherman (Victoria, B.C.) and Brooke Dexter (Anchorage, Alaska) each kept up their own torrid offensive seasons, as the juniors each earned 12 kills, Dexter's coming on a .500 attack rate. Sherman, meanwhile, also led the Red Leafs with four aces on the evening.

That first set saw the Red Leafs just overwhelm the Saints on the attack. SFU notched 17 kills on just 31 attacking attempts in the opening stanza, connecting at a ridiculous .516 rate. The Red Leafs never trailed and never even allowed Saint Martin's to equalize once in the first frame, eventually closing it out on a 6-2 run that featured four Sherman kills.

Saint Martin's rebounded well offensively, taking that second set 25-17, but the third was incredibly back-and-forth. With both teams going toe-to-toe offensively, the Saints' front-line defence proved the difference in the third frame, as their four blocks matched their margin of victory for the set.
 

SFU looked nearly finished mid-way through the fourth set, finding themselves down 17-9. However, back-to-back kills from Lachapelle and Dexter keyed off a furious Red Leafs run. By the time, Kalyn Hartmann (Langley, B.C.) delivered an ace, SFU had pulled themselves back even at 20-20.

Down 24-23, Lachapelle and Ezawa Malish (Coquitlam, B.C.) kept the Red Leafs alive with a block. However, the Saints took the set and match on the next two points, including a Karla Soto kill.

SFU will look to get back in the win column this Saturday, November 11, as they head to Monmouth, Oregon, to face the Western Oregon Wolves at 7 p.m.

Fans will have two more chances to cheer on the Red Leafs at West Gym this year. November 16 (7 p.m.) is Unity Night, as SFU takes on the Central Washington Wildcats. SFU logo rainbow socks will be given away, and the SAAC will be on hand to fund-raise for LGBTQ+ causes.

The regular season concludes on November 18 (5 p.m.) with Senior Night as SFU honours the graduating class of Red Leafs, which is comprised of middle Hartmann, libero Kalissa Beltran (Surrey, B.C.), outside hitter Hanna Kolof (Vancouver), middle Kohl Peters (Surrey, B.C.) and outside hitter Camryn Vosloh (Blaine, Washington).

Tickets for both games are available online.
Nov. 16: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-volleyball-vs-central-washington-university-tickets-679627382797?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
Nov. 18: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/senior-night-sfu-volleyball-vs-northwest-nazarene-university-tickets-679630933417?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.

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