MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's played a dominant night of volleyball on Thursday as they swept the Gonzaga Bulldogs in three strong sets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• SET ONE | The Gaels and the Bulldogs traded points back and forth, keeping within one point of each other for the first half of the set. Saint Mary's pulled away in the second half however, and took a 17-12 lead before the first time out. They kept control of the momentum coming back from the break and went on to win the set 25-21.
• SET TWO | Saint Mary's took the lead quickly in the second period while handling a four to 5-point lead for most of the set. At the Zags' first time out, the Gaels held a 16-9 lead over the Bulldogs. SMC kept things rolling and went on to take set No. 2 by the score of 25-17.
• SET THREE | The Gaels came out with another strong start to begin the third, holding control throughout while taking advantage of a few key extended rallies. Saint Mary's locked it down to win the set 25-19 as well as complete the sweep.
QUOTABLE
"It was tough on the road," said outside hitter Sarah Chase. "We were on the road a lot early this season, so it's nice to come home. The fans are on your side and everything has been working in our favor. Our coaches have told us to be really aggressive, so our setters just placed the ball for us well tonight and our blockers held the ball for us well too so that really helped."
"Gonzaga is a good team," said head coach Rob Browning. "We played at a consistent level and took them out of their comfort zone which helped a lot. Coming off of last weekend, you always want to see your team respond the way we responded tonight. We served well, took them out of their zone, and got them out of their rhythm with our serves. We love being at home, especially with how McKeon looks now. We try to instill that it doesn't matter where you play, that it's all the same no matter what: you just have to go out and play, but there is a definite home court advantage here. The fans are great, too. Being able to play in front of them is great."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Saint Mary's posted a team hitting percentage of .288, while the individual leader for the Gaels was Lindsey Knudsen (.290).
- Sarah Chase was the top performer for the Gaels on Thursday night with three service aces, 10 kills and five blocks.
- The Gaels collected seven total service aces during the match.
- With the win, Saint Mary's remains undefeated at home, posting a 6-0 mark thus far.
UP NEXT
The Gaels return to McKeon Pavilion for their next match on Saturday versus Portland at 1 p.m.
#GaelsRise – For ticket information to all home volleyball matches, call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689 or click the ticket link here to purchase your seats now.
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