Match #1
Saint Mary's Gaels at Utah Utes
Friday, August 30, 2019 at Noon MT
Salt Lake City — Huntsman Center
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Live Stats
 
Match #2
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. No. 23 Cal Poly Mustangs
Friday, August 30, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City — Huntsman Center
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Live Stats

Match #3
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats
Saturday, August 31, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City — Huntsman Center
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Live Stats
 
MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Volleyball officially returns this week, looking to rekindle their success from a year ago.
 
The team welcomes a pair of freshmen while returning 11 veterans, including four seniors: Alex O'Sullivan, Alexsa "Crash" Parker, Aubrey Pitts, and Sienna Young. The four team-leaders played a combined total of 357 sets last season, which included 421 kills, 182 blocks, and 581.5 points.
 
The two new Gaels to join the team are freshmen Elena Baka from Thessaloniki, Greece and Jadyn van Santen from Vancouver, British Columbia. Baka won the national championship in 2016 with her U15 squad, 2017 with U17 and U19, and again in 2018. Van Santen accumulated over 1,200 kills, 230 aces, 425 digs, and 100 blocks at Crofton House School in her hometown. 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, among others. For the full release on Baka and van Santen, click here.

The season begins on Friday, August 30 when the Gaels head to the Utah Volleyball Classic. There, they will face three teams who competed in the NCAA Tournament in 2018, 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. SMC defeated the Utes 3-2 when they met in Utah last season while their Pac-12 opponent was ranked 19th in the nation. Saint Mary's second opponent of the season will be a Cal Poly team who finished 2018 ranked 22nd in the country and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Then, the Gaels will face off against Kentucky who finished 10th in the national poll last year and made it three games deep into the postseason before falling to National Champion runner-up, Nebraska in Minneapolis.
 
SMC's home opener will take place on September 13 when they face Cornell at 6:00 p.m.as part of a Bay Area Invitational that they are co-hosting with San Francisco. The Gaels will also play the next day vs Utah State at 7:00 p.m. For tickets to the home opener, click here.
 
For the full schedule release, click here.
 
The volleyball team will also have a number of promotions this season. See below for more details:
 
Sep 13 (Fri) vs Cornell

• Poster

» All fans will get their first chance to pick up the 2019-20 Saint Mary's Volleyball posters.
 
Sep 14 (Sat) vs Utah State

• Camp Reunion Day

» All campers from the Saint Mary's Volleyball camps this summer are invited to the match!
 
Sep 21 (Sat) vs Cal

• Back to School Night Calculator Giveaway

» Go back to school in style! The first 100 kids in attendance can pick up calculators at the Saint Mary's Athletics table in the lobby.
 
Sep 27 (Fri) vs Pacific

• 90s Night

» Student Promo: Fanny packs to the first 150 students
 
Oct 3 (Thu) vs San Diego

• Beach Night

» Dress up in your favorite beach wear and battle the beach volleyball players at a match between sets 2 and 3.
 
Oct 5 (Sat) vs BYU

• Poster making station

» Make a poster to cheer on the team at the Saint Mary's Athletics table in the lobby.
 
Oct 17 (Thu) vs Loyola Marymount

• Rally Towel giveaway

» SMC Rally Towels for the first 200 fans in attendance. Pick up SMC Rally Towel at the Saint Mary's Athletics table in the lobby.
 
Oct 19 (Sat) vs Pepperdine

• Camp Reunion Day

» All campers from the Saint Mary's Volleyball camps this summer are invited to the match!
 
Oct 24 (Thu) vs Santa Clara

• Dig for PINK

» Buy the Exclusive Gael Dig For Pink shirt only on sale for this home game.
 
Oct 26 (Sat) vs San Francisco

• Volleyball Alumni Event

» Saint Mary's Athletics would like to welcome back Volleyball Alumni to McKeon Pavilion.
 
Nov 7 (Thu) vs Portland

• SPIRIT DAY

» Meet all the spirit clubs on campus. Spirit Team and Sports band will perform in between sets 2 and 3. Sign up to join our Gael Force team!
 
Nov 9 (Sat) vs Gonzaga

• Senior Day Tribute

» This will be the final home match for the Saint Mary's Volleyball seniors and will be honored in a pre-match ceremony.
 
#GaelsRise To purchase season and single-game volleyball tickets, click here.