JOLIET, Ill. - Paced by 15 kills from senior Gabrielle Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley), Purdue University Northwest earned a 3-1 victory over St. Francis (Ill.) in a non-conference volleyball match Wednesday night in Joliet, Ill.

Martin finished with a double-double, adding 11 digs to her 15-kill night, while senior Kayla Elsea (Palmyra, Ind./Crawford County) finished with 11 kills and a .333 attack percentage. 

Sophomore Brooke Ahrens (Covington, Ind./Covington) finished with a match-high 41 assists, eight digs and five kills.

Senior Abbe Mullen (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) rounded out the leaders for the Pride with a team-high 18 digs. 

The Pride trailed early in the opening set, but settled in nicely to take a 13-12 advantage after a kill from Martin. 

The Fighting Saints regained the lead 18-15, but the Black and Gold answered back with a 22-20 advantage thanks to a kill from junior Carissa Jones (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll).

PNW closed out the set nicely and won 25-22, to take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

The Black and Gold won the second set 25-18, but the Fighting Saints took Set 3, 25-22. 

The Pride finished strong in the last set and picked up the victory 25-22 to earn the four-set win. 

Purdue Northwest returns to action Friday night when they travel to Tiffin, Ohio, for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) match-up with Tiffin University at 6 pm (CT).