LACEY, Wash. – Western Oregon University won the opening two sets and then held off a late rally by Saint Martin's University to earn its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) win of the season with a 3-1 (25-12, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21) victory Saturday inside Marcus Pavilion.

Western Oregon (3-17, 1-11 GNAC) combined to hit .238 (52-17-147) in the match versus Saint Martin's (4-20, 1-11 GNAC) offensive performance of .143 (47-24-161) in hitting percentage.

The Wolves were led offensively by Alisha Bettinson with 10 kills, while Hannah Deede and Sydney Blankenship added nine kills and a team-high four blocks each for WOU. Jordin Ramos handed out a team-high 24 assists, while Kiana Cash also added 18 assists off the Wolves' bench. Defensively, four WOU players – Christie Colasurdo, Bettinson, Ramos, and Lani Kalalau – registered double-digits in digs led by Colasurdo's match-high 26.

Western Oregon began the match on a 7-2 run behind a pair of service aces by Bettinson before Saint Martin's used a 6-3 run to pull within two points (10-8) on a kill by Kristyn Ross. Following Ross' kill, Western Oregon used a 6-1 run to pull ahead by a score of 16-10 with Bettinson registering her third service ace of the opening set that forced SMU to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Saint Martin's got a kill by Carrie Starbuck to get back within five points (16-11) before Western Oregon scored five unanswered points to pull ahead by 10 points (21-11) on a combo block by Blankenship and Kalalau. The Wolves would close out the opening set on a 4-1 run to capture Set #1 by the final score of 25-12.

The second set would see Western Oregon jump out to a 10-3 lead on an attack error by SMU before Saint Martin's used a 5-1 run to pull within three points (11-8) on a kill by Ross. Over the next eight combined points, Western Oregon used a 7-1 run to pull ahead 18-10 on a service error by Saint Martin's. Despite SMU pulling within four points (22-18) late in the set, Western Oregon held off the Saints to win Set #2 by the final of 25-19 on a set-ending kill by Blankenship.

Set #3 would be a back-and-forth battle throughout, as Western Oregon earned a five-point lead (16-11) on a service ace by Sam Moore. Over the next 12 combined points, Saint Martin's would pull within three points (21-18) via a 7-5 run before the host Saints scored the final seven points of the set behind the serving of Nicolette Nesbitt en route to earning the 25-21 victory and pull within a set of Western Oregon.

The fourth and final set would begin with Western Oregon scoring the first five points, as the Wolves built a 6-2 lead on a kill by Ramos. Saint Martin's would then use an 18-14 run to tie things at 20-20 before Western Oregon closed out the set on a 5-1 run en route to earning the 25-21 victory that resulted in a four-set win for the Wolves.

Saint Martin's was led offensively by Ross with a match-high 16 kills, while Kyra Davidson and Rebecca Mitchell added eight kills each for the Saints. Nesbitt and Brenna Peterson combined to hand out 44 assists for the Saints, while Peterson also registered a double-double with a team-best 17 digs defensively. At the net, Davidson led all players with four blocks.

Western Oregon returns to action on Thursday, Oct. 30, against University of Alaska-Anchorage beginning at 7:00 PM inside the New PE Building in Monmouth, Oregon.