KIRKLAND – Northwest overcame a first-set setback to pick up its first home win of the season over St. Martin's 3-2 Saturday.
 
The Eagles won 22-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-0-25, 15-10.
 
"There was a lot of energy in the gym on both sides tonight and give credit to St. Martin's for coming out and punching us in the mouth in that first set," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "They did a good job keeping us off balance with their service against us like we did to them last night. For the rest of the match, there was a lot of ebb and flow and it came down to who was getting their passes and serves at any given moment. We were fortunate enough to make the plays when the game was on the line, but it could've gone either way."
 
Down 13-12 in the second set, the Eagles scored four consecutive points, including two blocks by Abigail Broussard with Sarah Howlett and Hanah Lord. NU later used three consecutive kills by Megan Miller, Tatiana Ensz, and Broussard in a 4-0 run to bulk the lead to 20-15.
 
The Saints rallied to within a point before NU closed out on another 4-0 run with kills by Lord, Miller, Howlett, and Azariah Johnson.
 
The Eagles trailed 24-23 in the third set but scored the next three points, including a block by Lord and Susanna Bailey and a kill by Howlett.
 
After SMU forced the fifth set, the Eagles came out for battle, taking a quick 5-1 lead. Broussard had two kills and shared a block with Lord. Eleanor Mason added an assist in the opening salvo.
 
SMU got within 13-10 late but the NU defense was equal to the task, closing out the match with two blocks by Muller and Broussard to get to match point and Lord and Broussard for the terminator.
 
Four Eagles finished with double-figure kills, led by Broussard with 15. Lord had 11 and Ensz and Howlett scored 10 each. Courteney Carr finished with 24 assists and Anna Saelens contributed 20.
 
The Eagles had eight aces for the match, led by Hannah Michaels, Ensz, and Broussard with two each.
 
NU finished with 16 blocks for the match. Broussard was in on 13 of those with Lord coming up with seven. Michaels had 28 digs and Mason added eight for the Eagles.
 
"We're looking forward to the last two weeks of the season now," said Bain. "I'm grateful to our seniors. Seniors don't typically play in the spring and this wouldn't have been the same without them. I'm thankful for the contributions they have made to the program over the years."
 
NU closes with consecutive weekends against Evergreen State, including two home games on April 16 and 17. Senior Night is April 23 and the Eagles finish with an April 24 road trip to Olympia.