VB | Saint Mary's 2011 Season In Review
12/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's women's volleyball team saw its string of 20-win season's come to an end this year, finishing with an overall record of 17-12. However, the Gaels won 11 of their last 13 matches, including seven-straight which renewed hopes for the future as the Gaels return every play on the roster for 2012.
Saint Mary's was mired in a 5-6 month of September, with injuries adding to SMC's struggles. The low point of the season occurred October 1, when Saint Mary's fell to Loyola Marymount in straight-sets on the road. With the loss the Gaels fell to to 6-10 on the year and 0-4 in the West Coast Conference.
With the change in the month, the Gaels got red hot. Saint Mary's turned the season around with a straight-sets sweep over Gonzaga at home, a four set victory over Portland gave them the team its first 2-0 week since the Gaels defeated No. 18 Duke and Notre Dame at the Stanford Invitational on September 2 and 3. After falling to San Diego the Gaels kicked it in high gear, winning nine of their final 10 matches.
During that stretch the Gaels averaged 14.26 kills per set, hitting .293, while holding their opponents to 12.23 kills per set and a .218 hitting percentage. SMC also averaged 1.85 aces per set and 2.77 blocks per set, all well above season averages.
SMC finished the season on an epic run with wins over San Diego, Pepperdine, USF and BYU. When the calendar turned to November the Gaels were nearly flawless, losing only two sets for the remainder of the season.
The highlight during that stretch was a straight-sets sweep over No. 14 Pepperdine on November 12. It marked just the fourth time in program history the Gaels had swept the Waves, it also marked the only loss in conference play for Pepperdine.
In 2011, Saint Mary's had six players receive all-conference honors. Earning first team honors was sophomore outside hitter Jordan Shaw and junior setter Missy White. Lauren Corp, Gabby Jolly and Sarah Reams were named to the Honorable Mention Team, while Samantha Tinsley was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Jordan Shaw was a force on the attack for the Gaels; she finished her breakout season with career-highs in nearly every statistical category. She led the team with a .313 hitting percentage in conference play, which was eighth in the WCC, her 3.83 kills per set was third in the conference.
Missy White had a record breaking season her first year running the attack solo. She finished the season with 1,244 assists, averaging 11.01 assists per set, while setting a new SMC single season record with 45 service aces. White ranked second in the conference in assists and assists per set, her 1,244 assists ranks fifth at SMC in a single season, while the 11.01 assists per set was eighth in a single season.
Lauren Corp earned her third consecutive all-conference accolade when she was named to the honorable mention team. She finished the year with 338 kills which led the team. Her 338 kills gives her 989 career kills which is 10th all-time and makes her nine shy of becoming the ninth player in SMC history to eclipse 1,000 career kills.
Gabby Jolly was named to her second consecutive all-conference team when she was named to the honorable mention team after setting career-highs in kills (284) and total blocks (131). Her 1.17 blocks per set ranked fourth in the conference and 63rd in the country.
Sarah Reams had a break out year after taking over the role of libero for the Gaels. Reams was named to the honorable mention team after tallying 470 digs and averaging 4.16 digs per set, she also recorded 37 aces. The 470 digs ranks second all-time at SMC in a single season while the 4.17 digs per set are third. She ranked fifth in the conference in total digs and digs per set.
Freshman Samantha Tinsley came on strong for the Gaels down the stretch, in doing so she was named to the all-freshman team. Tinsley finished the year with 216 kills, averaging 2.04 kills per set. Over the final six matches of the season, she recorded 42 kills, averaging 2.47 kills per set and hit .357.
The Gaels had no seniors in 2011 meaning Saint Mary's will return its entire roster for the 2012 season.
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Tuesday, December 02
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Saturday, November 29
VB | Highlights at LMU, 11-26-25
Wednesday, November 26
VB | Tyler Hildebrand Postgame Presser vs. Washington State 2025
Saturday, November 22
