VB | Gaels Outzig the Zags in Comeback Fashion

Thursday, October 10

Spokane, Wash

6:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

5-10,1-4WCC

Gonzaga

6-11,4-1WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Saint Mary's (CA)	19	25	25	25	3
Gonzaga	25	13	23	15	1

VB | Gaels Outzig the Zags in Comeback Fashion

10/10/2019 8:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. – After falling behind 1-0 in the match, Saint Mary's used dominance on both sides of the ball to complete the comeback and earn their first WCC victory of the season over Gonzaga.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• SET ONE | SMC kept within three points until the halfway point of the opening set. However, the Zags created some separation after 25 points with a 15-10 advantage which was their largest lead to that point in the match. The Gaels inched their way back and cut the deficit to just two points (18-16), but the Bulldogs ultimately came away with a 25-19 first-set victory.

• SET TWO | Saint Mary's jumped out to an early lead in the second set, pulling ahead 12-5 early on. They pushed their advantage to eight points (13-5) which forced the Zags to take a timeout. SMC scored two more-consecutive points out of the break to take a commanding, 10-point lead (15-5). The Gaels' momentum never subsided as they went on to win the set 25-13, tying the match up at one set apiece.

• SET THREE | While the first two sets consisted of one team taking a large lead over the other, the third featured tightly-contested play throughout. The Gaels managed to pull ahead by five points to lead 15-10 which was the largest lead by either side up to that point. SMC continued to pull ahead as the set progressed and they pushed their advantage to 17-11, triggering a GU timeout. Gonzaga then responded with an 8-2 run to tie the score at 19-19. However, SMC came right back, taking the next two points to lead 21-19. After another Zags timeout, GU found some momentum of their own, scoring three unanswered points to go up 22-21. The score was tied two more times (22-22 and 23-23), but Saint Mary's managed to fend off their adversary, winning by the score of 25-23.

• SET FOUR | Set No. four mirrored the third in the early-goings, but the Gaels managed to find some wiggle room, pulling ahead 17-9 to cap off a 10-1 scoring streak. While GU looked to find their footing, the Gaels denied them at every turn to take the final set 25-15.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• .357: SMC's hitting percentage in the fourth set
• 13: total blocks on the night – second most this season
• 5: No. of blocks for senior Aubrey Pitts – second most this season (two times)
• 12/13: No. of kills/digs for freshman Elena Baka – her fifth double-double on the season

QUOTABLE

"I'm really happy with our focus and how hard we fought in this match," said head coach Rob Browning. "We brought great energy and that really carried us. Gonzaga is a good team with some great athletes, so to come out on top today feels great. We are totally committed to improving every single day whether it's game day or practice. I feel like we are coming away from this match a better team than when we started."

"This match was really important for our team," said Pitts. "We've been focusing on playing with focus and energy and we executed that well tonight. Alex and I worked really hard to be consistent throughout the match and we have been working a lot on blocking and attacking."

UP NEXT

The Gaels will now head to Portland to face the Pilots on Saturday, October 12 at noon.

#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.