SALT LAKE CITY — The Saint Mary's volleyball team showed its strength and perseverance Saturday, coming back from being down 2-1 against a nationally ranked team on the road and facing match point six times to defeat No. 19 and tournament host Utah on its own home floor, winning 3-2 (14-25, 27-25, 19-25, 31-29, 15-11) while falling to UC Irvine, 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 25-16), on the final day of the Utah Volleyball Classic at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Gaels (1-2) started their day with a thrilling comeback to earn their first victory over a nationally ranked opponent since Oct. 25, 2013 (3-2 vs. No. 19 BYU). The fourth set was the turning point of the match, as the Gaels won 31-29 to tie the match at 2-2 and carry momentum into the fifth and deciding set.
   
• The match was all but over in the fourth. Utah (2-1) led 24-20 and needed just one more point to clinch a 3-1 victory. But the Gaels scored five straight points on back-to-back-to-back kills by three different players – Lindsey Calvin, Sienna Young and Alex O'Sullivan – then tied it at 24-24 on an ace from Lindsey Knudsen and took a 25-24 lead with a block from Calvin and O'Sullivan.
   
• Utah would still get to two more match points at 26-25 and 27-26, but in both of those cases a kill from young tied it back up and breathed life back into the Gaels. Tied at 29-29, it was consecutive kills from Knudsen that gave the Gaels the 31-29 come-from-behind win and tied the match at 2-2.
   
• Saint Mary's carried that momentum into the fifth set. The Gaels never trailed in the fifth, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before carrying an 8-3 advantage into the court switch. Utah tried to come back at the end, turning a 13-8 SMC lead into a 14-11 contest, but an attack error by the Utes would seal the 3-2 match win for the Gaels.
   
• SMC had already tied the match once before with extra points, winning set two, 27-25, after the Utes (2-1) had taken the opening set, 25-14. The Gaels previewed their fantastic set four effort in the second frame, fighting off two set points and coming from behind with three consecutive points to even the match at 1-1. Only once during the entire second set were the teams separated by more than two points.
   
• In the afternoon match versus UC Irvine (1-2), Saint Mary's jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first set, still reeling off their earlier big win. But the Anteaters responded with a 10-2 run to take the lead and grab the momentum. Set two was much closer, with the score tied 22-22 late. UCI scored three of the last four points to win, 25-23, and go up 2-0 in the match. SMC took set three, 25-16, but UC Irvine returned the favor with an identical match-clinching 25-16 win in the fourth.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 4: Four Gaels posted double-digit kills on Saturday. Lindsey Calvin did it twice with 12 versus Utah and 14 against UC Irvine. Sienna Young had 12, Lindsey Knudsen had 11 and Jennifer "Boo" Laird had 11 to give the Gaels four double-figure kills performances against the Utes.
• 11: The Gaels had 11 blocks versus Utah, their most on the weekend and first match of the year with double-digit blocks. Alex O'Sullivan led all players with nine to go with her eight kills.
• 29: Alexsa "Crash" Parker set a new career high with 29 assists against Utah. She logged her second double-double of the season in that match with a career-high-matching 17 digs. She narrowly missed a third double-double against UC Irvine with 27 assists and nine digs.

ALL-TOURNAMENT

• Lindsey Knudsen was named to the Utah Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team after logging a team-high 32 kills over three matches. She also had 23 digs, five blocks, four service aces and three assists on the weekend. It was her ace that tied the fourth set at 24-24 versus No. 19 Utah, and it was her back-to-back kills that gave the Gaels a 31-29 win in that fourth set which propelled them to the win over the nationally ranked Utes on the road.

COMING UP

• Saint Mary's travels to the Central Valley next week for the Fresno State Invitational, where it will play another three matches. The Gaels will face the host Bulldogs, as well as Cal Baptist – who is in its first year transitioning from NCAA Division II to Division I – and American University.
   
• Fans can find all live coverage links on SMCGaels.com. Follow @SMC_Volleyball and @SMCGaels for all the latest on the Gaels.