MORAGA, Calif. – 258 days since their last match in the NCAA Tournament, Saint Mary's volleyball has returned with their eyes set on their 2019 opener at Utah on Aug 30.
 
The Gaels return 12 players from 2018's roster including four seniors: Alex O'Sullivan, Alexsa "Crash" Parker, Aubrey Pitts, and Sienna Young. The quartet played a combined total of 357 sets last season, which included 421 kills, 182 blocks, and 581.5 points.
 
"This is a new chapter for us," said Parker. "It's not only because we're seniors, but because we have to step into new roles on and off the floor."
 
Saint Mary's will welcome two new faces to their roster as well: Elena Baka and Jadyn van Santen. Hailing from Thessaloniki, Greece, Baka graduated from Hellenic College of Thessaloniki in 2019. There, she won the national championship in 2016 with the u15 squad, 2017 with u17 and u19, and again in 2018 with the same groups. She was also named MVP of the 2016 national championship team and received two national MVPs and the Best Attacker award. Baka was recruited by a myriad of schools including Stanford, USC, Stetson, Florida State, and Pepperdine just to name a few.
 
"This is a whole new experience for me, coming from Greece," said Baka. "I love this team: we're very close and I look forward to helping them as much as I can this year."
 
Meanwhile, van Santen joins the Gaels from Vancouver, British Columbia. Standing six feet tall, she accumulated over 1,200 kills, 230 aces, 425 digs, and 100 blocks at Crofton House School. She also collected numerous accolades during her prep career including: being named the MVP of the Capilano University Varsity Girls Championship, becoming the Most Outstanding Player at the ISAA Championship, and claiming the MVP, Best Server, and Best Hitter titles for three-consecutive seasons (2015-17) of the Western Canadian Independent School Varsity Girls Championship Team.
 
SMC will embark on a challenging, non-conference schedule beginning with the Utah Volleyball Classic August 30-31. There, they will face three teams who competed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, beginning with Utah who fell just outside of the top-25 in the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) rankings. Then, they will face Cal Poly and Kentucky who are ranked 23rd and 7th respectively. For the full schedule release, click here.
 
"We returned so many good players who have a lot of experience, and they're doing a great job leading this team," said head coach Rob Browning who is entering his 15th season as head coach of the Gaels. "This year, we're going to work really hard, communicate well as a team, and focus on the things that we can control."
 
#GaelsRise To purchase season and single-game volleyball tickets, click here.