Match #26
Saint Mary's Gaels (17-8, 9-6 WCC) vs. No. 1 BYU (25-0, 15-0 WCC)
Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 7 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– McKeon Pavilion
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Match #27 –– Senior Day
Saint Mary's Gaels (17-8, 9-6 WCC) vs. San Diego (15-10, 12-3 WCC)
Saturday, November 17, 2018 at 1 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– McKeon Pavilion
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Match #28
Saint Mary's Gaels (17-8, 9-6 WCC) vs. Santa Clara (6-22, 1-15 WCC)
Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 7 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– McKeon Pavilion
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MORAGA, Calif. ––  Saint Mary's will play their final three matches of the regular season over the next week with games against No. 1 BYU, San Diego, and Santa Clara.

SCOUTING REPORT
The Gaels are coming off of a split week last week after an exciting 3-2 comeback win over the Portland Pilots and a 3-1 loss against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Saint Mary's is ranked 44th in the national RPI poll and continues to rank highly (30th) in aces per set as a squad. 

Freshman Breyan Ashley came up big last week for the Gaels as she collected a total of 21 kills, three blocks, and eight digs over the course of the two matches. Her biggest match came against Portland where she was the kill-leader (15) and contributed to a number of key plays that helped mount the comeback over the Pilots.

Junior Alexsa "Crash" Parker continues to impress with her serving this season as she reached a total of 42 last week. Parker is ranked 34th in the country in aces per set (0.42) and tied for 35th in total service aces. She is now just one ace shy of tying the Saint Mary's program record of 128 career service aces which is currently held by Mandy Bible (2003-06).

SENIOR SEND-OFF
Before first serve against San Diego on Saturday, Saint Mary's will honor their graduating seniors Sarah Chase, Lindsey Knudsen, Lindsey Calvin, and Emily Bible.

Sarah Chase joined the Gaels in 2015 and has been an important member of the team ever since. Chase had her most impressive match of the year against USF on October 18 where she collected season highs in kills (15), assists (4), points (21), and blocks (6). She also received Gold Honors on the 2015-16 WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll for maintaining a 3.96 GPA during her freshman year. Chase has also made an international impact as she has spent the last two summers with the Canadian National Team.

Lindsey Knudsen has been a key contributor to the Saint Mary's squad since her freshman season in 2015. Knudsen is in the Gael record books as she is tied for eighth in total number of kills in four sets (21) which she achieved during her first year as a Gael. She set three season-highs in this season's match against San Francisco (Sept. 25) when she collected 26.5 points, six aces, and 20 digs. Knudsen also passed 1,000 career kills during the match against Gonzaga (Oct. 11) and is six digs shy (994) of 1,000 career digs.

Lindsey Calvin has also played an important roll since she began her career in 2015. Calvin set a number of her season-highs this year during the match against Southern Utah where she recorded 22 points, one ace, and eight blocks. She was also named to the West Coast Conference Volleyball All-Academic Team in both her sophomore and junior years.

Emily Bible, who joined Saint Mary's indoor volleyball during her sophomore year in 2016, has also been a big contributor to the Gaels since her arrival. Bible was named to the 2017 All-WCC Second Team and earned All-WCC Second Team accolades during her junior year. As an libero during her senior season, she has come up big for the Gaels and contributed to a number of key wins. 

BYU
No. 1 BYU enters McKeon with a perfect, 25-0 record and a 15-0 record against WCC opponents. The Cougars have won 21 of their matches by sweeping their opponents and have only gone to five sets once this season (August 31, Stanford – who was No.1 at the time). The Cougars are currently ranked number one in the nation in team hitting percentage (0.331), second in opponent hitting percentage (.135) and 12th in kills per set (14.31). In the last match between the two teams (Sept. 22), BYU swept Saint Mary's 3-0.

Stat leaders for the Cougars include Veronica Jones-Perry who has a total of 352 kills and is ranked 15th in the nation for kills per set (4.46). Jones-Perry also has the most service aces (35) for BYU and is 26th in aces per set (0.44). Heather Gneiting leads the team with 117 blocks, is nationally ranked 16th in blocks per set (1.44) and has posted a 0.428 hitting percentage thus far this year, which has her ranked third in the nation.

SAN DIEGO
The San Diego Toreros have a 15-10 record this season and are 12-3 in the WCC. USD is coming off of a 3-1 win over Santa Clara and a 3-1 win over USF before that. San Diego will play a match against Pacific on Thursday ahead of their match against Saint Mary's on Saturday. The Toreros' last loss was November 2 in a 3-1 match against the BYU Cougars. In their first match against USD, the Gaels took the 3-2 win over the Toreros who were ranked No. 24 at the time.

Roxie Wiblin leads San Diego with 249 kills and is second on the team with 16 service aces behind Laura Madill (19). Addison Picha holds the highest hitting percentage on the team (.427) and is ranked fourth in the nation. Picha also leads the team in blocks (133) and is nationally ranked 15th in blocks per set (1.46).

SANTA CLARA
The Broncos have posted a 6-22 record this year with a 1-15 mark against conference opponents. Santa Clara is coming off of a 3-1 loss against San Diego and is currently on a 7-game losing streak since October 20. The Broncos have a match against San Francisco on Friday ahead of their match against Saint Mary's on Tuesday, which will be both teams' final match of the regular season. In their last match against Santa Clara (Oct. 20), Saint Mary's swept the Broncos at home 3-0.

Freshman Michelle Shaffer has the highest number of kills (285) this season for Santa Clara and also leads the team with 28 service aces. Junior Alexa Dreyer is hitting at a .271 clip which is the highest for the squad, holds the most total blocks (87) and is second on the team in kills (200).

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