SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The Gaels turned it around on Friday as they swept both San Francisco and Santa Clara at the Mid-Season Conference Tournament.

Saint Mary's started the tournament by taking down Santa Clara in five sets. Each of the Gael pairs defeated their opponents in straight sets and only allowed the Broncos to score more than 15 points in two sets. With the sweep over Santa Clara, the Gaels completed their eighth sweep of the year.

In the second match of the day, the Gaels beat USF for the third time this season. SMC only allowed the Dons to win a single set through the entire match and otherwise defeated their opponents in straight sets.

Seniors Sarah Chase and Lindsey Knudsen were dominant on Friday and didn't allow either pair they played to score above 12 points. Freshman Chandler Cowell and sophomore Jennifer "Boo" Laird also played well on Friday as they beat both opponents in straight sets and won their final set by 17 points.

"Overall it was a great team win today," said  Laird. "Despite the windy conditions and playing two solid teams, all pairs fought hard and we finished both with 5-0 sweeps! I know we are all looking forward to what tomorrow brings."

RESULTS

#18/18 Saint Mary's 5, Santa Clara 0

1. Sarah Chase/Lindsey Knudsen (SMC) def. Anthony/Loreen (SCU), 21-12, 21-11
2. Emily Bible/Lindsey Calvin (SMC) def. Gajdka/Powers (SCU), 21-14, 21-12
3. Alexsa "Crash" Parker//Sienna Young (SMC) def. Light/Decker (SCU), 21-15, 21-11
4. Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Gillingham/Reinert (SCU), 21-19, 21-15
5. Selbie Christensen/Chandler Cowell (SMC) def. Dreyer/Rentsch (SCU), 21-17, 21-12

#18/18 Saint Mary's 5, San Francisco 0

1. Sarah Chase/Lindsey Knudsen (SMC) def. Dalla Vecchia/Lowry (USF), 21-11, 21-8
2. Emily Bible/Lindsey Calvin (SMC) def. LaFollette/Zinger (USF), 21-14, 21-6
3. Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Sienna Young (SMC) def. Reames/To'oto'o (USF), 21-15, 21-14
4. Chandler Cowell/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Araujo/Rogers (USF), 21-16, 21-4
5. Selbie Christensen/Morgan Kendrick (SMC) def. Ashman/Koutsoukos (USF), 17-21, 21-10, 15-4

UP NEXT

The Gaels will play again on Saturday at 11 a.m. before moving on to either the bronze place match or the gold medal match depending on the outcome of game one.