VB | Gaels Hand No. 11 BYU First Loss of 2012
9/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team used a strong start and handed No. 11 Brigham Young its first loss of the year in a 25-15, 25-11, 19-25, 26-24 win on Saturday afternoon in McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels had only two errors combined in the first two sets and finished the afternoon hitting at a .345 clip.
With the win, Saint Mary's improves to 8-7, 3-1 West Coast Conference while the Cougars drop to 15-1, 3-1 WCC. It was SMC's second consecutive win over a ranked opponent after defeating No. 18 Pepperdine on Thursday night.
Kristina Graven had a match-high 18 kills with 13 digs while hitting at a .298 clip. Lauren Corp finished with 14 kills on .462 hitting with 10 digs. Jordan Shaw added 13 kills, three aces and 19 digs. The three aces were part of 10 served up by the Gaels.
Gabby Jolly finished with 12 kills on .429 hitting and Katie Reininger added 11 kills on .350 hitting. Sarah Reams had 15 digs and four aces, while Dalas Dodd had 62 assists, four digs and three aces.
BYU was led by Jennifer Hamson with 16 kills while Alexa Gray added12 kills.
The Gaels hit .516 in the first set and jumped out to a 16-6 lead. The Gaels did not let up as SMC cruised to the 25-15 win.
In the second set, the Gaels continued to stay in rhythm, this time having an errorless set with 17 kills in 25 attmepts for a .680 percentage. SMC scored the last five points of the set to win 25-11 and enter the break with a chance for a sweep.
BYU returned the favor in the third set with an errorless set of its own, hitting at a .457 clip with 16 kills. BYU led by as many as 12 points at 23-11. A key point in the match however came as SMC got a kill from Jolly and consecutive kills by Graven. Those points sparked an 8-0 run for the Gaels to pull SMC within 23-19. While BYU ultimately came away with the 25-19 victory, the run seemed to give SMC the push they would need in the fourth set.
In the fourth set, the Gaels scored four of the first five points for an early advantage. BYU pulled ahead 17-14, but SMC would never let the deficit become too large. BYU led 23-20 before Shaw answered with a kill, followed by a Dodd ace. After a BYU timeout, Jolly and Shaw notched a block to tie up the set at 23-23. BYU had set point after a Hamson kill made it 24-23 BYU, but Corp sent down a kill to make it 24-24. After a BYU attack error, the Gaels got a key dig and Jolly sent home the match winner at 26-24.
The Gaels won three matches this past week, sweeping Portland on Monday, defeating No. 18 Pepperdine on Thursday and No. 11 BYU.
It will be a short practice week for the Gaels as they travel to San Diego to take on the No. 16 Toreros at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The match will be televised by ESPNU with commentators Sam Gore and Holly McPeak.
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