MORAGA, Calif. – Taking on No. 12-ranked Cal in their second-consecutive match, the Gaels took the Golden Bears to the limit: SMC snagged two victories on courts one and two and pushed the No. 3s into a third set, however No. 18 Saint Mary's fell by the score of 3-2.
 
The Gaels' biggest feats of the day came in their final two matches and all from seniors. Emily Bible and Lindsey Calvin defeated their opponents in straight sets in the No. 2 position 21-17, 21-13. Their win was fueled by numerous diving digs from Bible and a .478 hitting percentage from Calvin. After the duo's victory, all eyes turned to Lindsey Knudsen and Sarah Chase on court No. 1. At that time, the pair had already taken the first set by a close score of 22-20 and were trading points through the late part of the second. That set went the way of the Bears with a 22-20 final, but Chase and Knudsen would not be denied in the third: in yet another back-and-forth contest, they pulled through in the final moments to win 15-13.
 
SMC also came close in the third position as Alexsa "Crash" Parker and Sienna Young took matters to a decisive, third set after taking the second 21-16. However, the pair could not ride their momentum into the third as they dropped the set 15-8.
 
"As a team, we really tried to be patient," said Knudsen. "We knew that both sides would earn points, but we knew that if we battled every point, we could come out on top. I am fired up that Sarah is my partner and I love how our whole team battled today."
 
"Our mindset always stays the same," said Chase. "That's one of the best things about our pair, is that we have patience and the belief in our ability to side out."
 
"Cal is a very tough opponent," said head coach Gary Hodge. "Last time we went 0-5 against this team, so the development is obvious: we're heading in the right direction as far as what we're working on in practice, and the way that we're executing. The two teams that won today are seniors. They have set the tone from the beginning, and they are continuing to set that tone in how to defeat some of the best teams in the country."
 
UP NEXT
 
Saint Mary's will now head to Santa Cruz for the Midseason Conference Tournament March 29-30. They will play two matches on Friday at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. against San Francisco and Santa Clara respectively. 
 
Results
 
No. 12 California 3, No. 18 Saint Mary's 2
1. Lindsey Knudsen, Sarah Chase (SMC) def. Jordon Polo, Mima Mirkovic 22-20, 20-22, 15-13
2. Emily Bible, Lindsey Calvin (SMC) def. Maddie Micheletti, Caroline Schafee 21-17, 21-13
3. Lya Lindahl, Grace Cambell (Cal) def. Alexsa "Crash" Parker Sienna Young 21-13, 16-21, 15-8
4. Mia Merino, Abby Waldburger (Cal) def. Jennifer "Boo" Laird, Morgan Kendrick 21-16, 21-11
5. Alexia Inman, Madi Dueck (Cal) def. Chandler Cowell, Selbie Christensen 21-17, 21-14
6. Jackie Ribeiro, Chloe Luyties (Cal) def. Madison Bauman, Breyan Ashley 21-16, 21-16
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1