The St. Lawrence University volleyball team dropped their opening game of the Hamilton tournament to the host school Hamilton 3-0 (19-25, 22-25, 16-25) Friday night in Clinton, N.Y.

The Saints fall to 1-5 on the year as they continue non-conference play.

"Our offense continues to sputter but we had our best match of the season in several other categories," said Shelly Roiger, head coach of the Saints. "Our serving game was back where it should be, we doubled the number of Hamilton's blocks, and our defense was very good at times. We lost our mental focus in key moments, especially in set three, so there's definitely things to improve upon. But I saw glimpses of the success the team can experience."

Araiza Acum-Santos had eight kills on the night to lead the team while also recording 10 digs and three service aces. Vanessa Latam had three aces, and team-highs in assists with 11, and digs with 12. Adeline Riesenberger was second on the team with five kills. Kori Meissner had 10 digs and Mattie Porter had eight digs and seven assists. 

The Saints stuck with the Continentals early in the first set by splitting the first 12 points. After this, however, Hamilton earned eight of the next ten points to take a 14-8 lead. The Continentals led the rest of the way, controlling the game with as much as a nine-point lead 23-14. After this, the Saints went on a 4-0 run highlighted by three straight service aces by Latam, but the Continentals were able to score two of the next three to earn the 25-19 victory. 

In the second set the Scarlet and Brown started strong with a 3-0 lead and then a 6-3 lead thanks to a pair of kills from Acum-Santos, which forced an early timeout from the Continentals. Hamilton was able to get back into the game after that, taking their first lead at 11-10. The Saints went on a small spurt of their own, taking back the lead 17-14, but then the Continentals tied it at 19 apiece. Hamilton gathered themselves after calling a timeout, scoring six of the next nine to win the back-and-forth set 25-22. 

In the third set, St. Lawrence earned the first five points thanks to a few attacking errors from Hamilton, but the lead didn't last long as the Continentals earned the next six to take a 6-5 lead. The middle part of the set was tightly contested all the way through with the two teams exchanging leads, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage. With the Saints holding a 14-12 lead, Hamilton went on a 7-1 run to take their largest lead of the set at 19-15. The Continentals proceeded to score six of the next seven to take the final set 25-16. 

Next, the Scarlet and Brown will play Saturday against SUNY Morrisville at 1 p.m. and Keuka at 3 p.m. as they continue to play in the Hamilton Tournament.