LACEY – Northwest scored its first win of the season, taking down St. Martin's in three sets Friday, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23.
 
Hannah Lord led the Eagles with 10 kills on a .563 attack percentage, with Anna Saelens and Courteney Carr putting up the assist numbers with 13 and 11, respectively.
 
NU also posted 12 aces against just one service error. Hannah Michaels served four aces, while Allie Flynn and Abigail Broussard added three each and Cristina Lorenz two.
 
"We knew coming into this match that St. Martin's would present a challenge offensively and that serving would play a big role in the outcome," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "Credit our servers for being on task, because I think our serving pressure kept them out of system just enough for us to score points in transition. There are still phases of our game, though, that can be improved, and this group is excited for each opportunity."
 
Defensively, Broussard was in on four blocks, and Lorenz led the back row with 14 digs.
 
The Eagles used a 5-0 run in the first set with three aces by Michaels and kills by Broussard and Megan Miller to break away for a 17-11 lead. NU got two more aces in the set from Broussard and got the eight-point win.
 
Another 5-0 run in the second set staked the Eagles to a 14-9 lead. Sarah Howlett and Azaria Johnson provided kills in that spree. SMU got within 18-16 before the Eagles closed the set out on a 7-1 run, ignited by a Lorenz ace.
 
SMU made a late run in the final set to make it 23-21, but Susanna Bailey ended the drama with a match-ending kill.
 
The teams come to Kirkland Saturday to close out the series at 5 p.m. in Kristi Brodin Pavilion.