MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's had an impressive day against Portland on Saturday, with four Gaels collecting double-doubles. The Gaels worked hard and flashed stellar defense in order to secure a 3-1 win over their WCC opponent.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• SET ONE | The Gaels held a two to 3-point lead over Portland for most of the set and had a score of 17-14 at the first time out. After two late timeouts, the Gaels still kept control and went on to win 25-20 with a hitting percentage of .421.

• SET TWO | The second set began much tighter than the first, as the Gaels and the Pilots traded points back and forth through the first half. After the Pilots took their first time out, Saint Mary's went on a tear and were up 20-15 by the second time out. Portland tried to bring it back and got the score within one, but SMC pulled out the win with a score of 25-23.

• SET THREE | Set three was another close one where the two teams shared points. Portland took the lead for a short time during the middle of the set and were up 12-6 at one point. The Gaels however turned it around and went on a 6-point streak to take an 18-16 lead. The teams went point-for-point for the remainder of the match, but Portland eventually took the set 25-21.

• SET FOUR | Saint Mary's came out tough in the fourth set and kept the Pilots within one or two points for the first half. The Gaels then pulled away and commanded the energy in order to win the final set 25-22.

QUOTABLE
"I think it's really easy to get caught up in the game, the score, and previous wins," said middle blocker Alex O'Sullivan. "But we know that if we just stick to playing Saint Mary's volleyball and Saint Mary's play, that's what matters. It's really important to pay attention to our game and keep our heads straight. We had a huge turnout today which is great, and it's really special to have this space and the new screen is awesome. We get a lot from our fans when they come and support us so it was great to have that today."

"We were expecting a battle," said head coach Rob Browning. "Portland came off a win on Thursday where they were totally dominant and their offense was superb, so we were focused on coming out with intensity. We're always focused on that, but today we were really dialed into their offense and slowing it down because they have a lot of weapons. I'm proud of our girls for battling, coming back in the third and fourth sets today, and picking up where they left off in the first two sets. We pride ourselves on being balanced. We don't rely too much on one or two players and I think we are a hard team to scout because of that. You can't just slow down one or two of our players; you have to be attentive to everyone because all of them are effective. It's normal for us to have a balanced attack and I think by managing our errors today, we did a good job of that."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Gaels Sarah Chase (13 kills, 13 digs), Lindsey Knudsen (13 kills, 16 digs) and Alexsa "Crash" Parker (256 assists, 10 digs), and Alosina Thompson (18 assists, 10 digs) all recorded double-doubles .
• Saint Mary's recorded 13 total blocks on Saturday while O'Sullivan was a part of seven.
• 13 blocks is the second-highest total on the season and the most since the match versus Pacific in late September.
• With Saturday's win, the Gaels continue to be undefeated at home (7-0).

UP NEXT

Saint Mary's will travel to across the Bay for their next match as they take on the San Francisco Dons on Thursday at 7 p.m.

#GaelsRise – For ticket information to all home volleyball matches, call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689 or go to smcgaels.com to purchase your seats now.