ARCATA — Hungry veterans Oceana Matsubu and Allison Drobish led a young Humboldt State supporting unit to the Lumberjacks' first volleyball victory of the season, a 25-23, 25-16, 25-19 defeat of Saint Martin's University at the Humboldt State Tournament on Friday.

Boxscore

The win drew HSU even at 1-1 on the opening weekend of the 2011 volleyball season. The Lumberjacks play two more tourney matches Saturday, taking on Academy of Art at 10 a.m. and Notre Dame de Namur at 4 p.m.

On Friday, the Lumberjacks broke out early against the Saint Martin's Saints, moving up by as many as eight points to grab momentum in the opening set. Bailey Kotas' service ace put HSU up 15-7 before Saint Martin's clawed its way back into the match.

The Saints closed within four points at 20-16, but the Lumberjacks answered down the stretch, scoring three straight points to end the set. Another ace by Kotas and a pair of SMU errors sealed the win.

HSU trailed well into the second set, falling behind 12-7 when the Saints' Katy Ferguson put away a kill. That's when Matsubu took over, powering down five consecutive kills and seven total in an 8-0 Jacks' surge that also included an ace by Drobish.

Saint Martin's drew even at 20-20 before a kill each from Matsubu and Drobish and a pair of SMU attack errors ended the set.

"Twenty kills in three sets is a pretty good number," HSU coach Sue Woodstra said, speaking of Matsubu's match-high total on the evening. "We'd like to run a more balanced offense where she doesn't have to carry that load. We'll improve on that as the season progresses."

The third set was tied at 6-6 before the Lumberjack again went on an 8-0 tear that included two Drobish kills. The junior ended the evening with seven kills and a team-high five blocks, while freshman Cheyann DePrue contributed eight kills.

Leading the Lumberjacks in digs was Brooke Feguson with 20. Matsubu (14), Ashley Neale (12) and DePrue (10) also dented double figures.

Saint Martin's was led by Ferguson and Kristeen Juarez, both of whom finished with eight kills. Four Saints tied for team-high digs honors with 10 each.

Following the first two days of the Humboldt State Volleyball Tournament, both Central Washington and Cal State East Bay sport 2-0 records. Humboldt State and Saint Martin's are 1-1, while Academy of Art and Notre Dame de Namur are both 0-2 heading into the final day's action.