MORAGA, Calif. –  Saint Mary's played a strong five sets on Saturday afternoon against the LMU Lions, but ultimately fell 3-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• SET ONE | The Gaels and the Lions both started off hot and traded points back and forth for the majority of the set. Neither team was ever up by more than three points and the teams fought hard to remain close. The Lions eventually got the win in the marathon first period with a score of 28-26.

• SET TWO | The second set started off similar to the first, with both teams going point-for-point in the beginning. But the Gaels took control of the momentum during the middle of the set and went on a 12-point streak to win it 25-15.

• SET THREE | The third was another close one as the two teams never led by more than four points. It was close down to the wire, with no clear leader in this set until the Gaels pulled it out late for a 28-26 win after a second marathon set.

• SET FOUR |  Saint Mary's brought the momentum from the previous set into the fourth and kept within a one-point reach of LMU. It remained close for the whole period and all four of the timeouts were taken during the last ten points recorded in the set. The Lions ended up winning 25-23 and forcing a fifth.

• SET FIVE |  The fifth set was as close as all the rest and the teams traded points as they had been doing all match. It was an intense match and neither team gave up at any point. The Lions managed to pull out the 15-12 win in the end and won the match three sets to two.

QUOTABLE
"A great battle with LMU, and therefore a tough loss," said Rob Browning. "I love the way we fought and our energy was fantastic. We simply did not execute at the level we needed to come out on top. But we fought hard from beginning to end and that's what I'm proud of."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Lindsey Knudsen (11 kills and 18 digs), Sarah Chase (14 kills and 13 digs), and Alexsa "Crash" Parker (28 assists and 12 digs) all collected double-doubles for the Gaels.

• Jennifer "Boo" Laird collected a season-high six blocks and a season-high 15.5 points during the match.

• Saint Mary's held LMU to a .250 clip on Saturday which is a whole .125 lower than the clip the Lions recorded (.375) in their earlier contest this season against the Gaels.

UP NEXT

The Gaels will head to the Pacific Northwest next week to take on the Portland Pilots and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Thursday's match against Portland will begin at 7 p.m. and first serve for Saturday's match against Gonzaga will be at noon.

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