MORAGA, Calif. – The Gaels fought to the final moments against LMU on Thursday night as they took them to five sets, but SMC eventually fell 3-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• SET ONE | The Gaels got on the board first on Thursday night as they started the set with a 3-0 run before allowing the Lions to score. LMU then went on a 5-0 run of their own to take the lead, but a kill from freshman Elena Baka ended their streak. Two impressive blocks at the net by SMC tied the two teams at eight apiece as the Lions and the Gaels began to trade points. At the first break, Saint Mary's was on another 3-0 run and led Loyola Marymount 15-12. LMU came within a point of SMC towards the end, but the Gaels were able to shut down their offensive push and win the set 26-24. Baka was the kill-leader for Saint Mary's in the first set (4), while senior Alexsa "Crash" Parker led the team with eight assists and senior Alex O'Sullivan led with four block assists.

• SET TWO | The Lions got out to a strong start in the second set as they took an early 6-2 lead which they soon extended to six points. Senior Aubrey Pitts recorded her first kill of the game to end a 5-1 run for LMU but at the first timeout of the set, Loyola Marymount commanded the 15-7 lead. Saint Mary's pulled back within five points of the Lions following consecutive two blocks by O'Sullivan and senior Sienna Young as the teams then went point-for-point. LMU held a 20-13 lead at one point, but SMC forced the Lions to take a timeout shortly after with the score at 20-15. The Gaels continued to fight until the end of the set, but the Lions eventually prevailed and took set two 25-19. By the end of the second set, O'Sullivan was leading the team in both kills (seven) and block assists (six), while redshirt-freshman Kelsey Knudsen led with six digs.

• SET THREE | LMU and SMC began the third set by trading points until Saint Mary's went on a 4-0 run to take the 9-5 lead and force the Lions to take a timeout. Following the break, the Gaels continued their run and took the 11-5 lead before Loyola Marymount was able to score. LMU fought back to within two points of SMC, but O'Sullivan's tenth kill of the match kept the Gaels' steady lead of four points. The Lions had another late push in the third set and tied the set 22-22,  but Saint Mary's took control in the end and won the third set 25-23. O'Sullivan continued to lead the team with 11 kills by the end of the third, which surpassed her previous season-high of eight recorded against Cal on September 21. Knudsen and Parker were neck-and-neck with eight digs and seven digs, respectively, by the end of the set.

• SET FOUR | Loyola Marymount got out to a quick 10-5 lead in the fourth and extended it to 12 points shortly thereafter. Saint Mary's took a timeout with the Lions on a 6-1 run and in the lead 20-8. The Gaels were unable to come back from LMU's strong lead and the Lions took set four 25-9.

• SET FIVE | Saint Mary's took the first two points of the final set before the teams started to go point-for-point. The Gaels then pulled ahead 8-4 and forced LMU to take their first timeout of the fifth set. As they came back from the break, SMC took the following point and the Lions took another timeout. Loyola Marymount scored the next two points and pulled to within three, before tying the set 11-11 and making the Gaels take a timeout of their own. LMU then took the 14-12 lead from which SMC would not recover and the Lions went on to win 15-12.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 11, 8: New season-high in kills and block assists for O'Sullivan
• 14: Total blocks for Saint Mary's on Thursday which ties their season-high against Portland
• 11: Both Knudsen and Parker led the team with 11 digs apiece
• 26: Combined number of kills from team leaders Ashley and Baka

UP NEXT

The Gaels will have Friday off before playing the Pepperdine Waves for the first time this season on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in McKeon Pavilion.

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