MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's made quick work of Utah State on Saturday night as they swept the Aggies in the final game of the Bay Area Invitational.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• SET ONE | The Aggies and the Gaels went point-for-point during the initial minutes of set one, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead for a majority of the set. The Aggies took the first timeout of the evening with the Gaels ahead 20-19 and returned from the break to tie it up. Saint Mary's and Utah State remained neck-and-neck into the final moments of the set until SMC went on a 5-1 run to take the first set 25-21.

• SET TWO | The Gaels carried their momentum from the first set into the second and maintained a steady lead of two-to-three points until pulling out to a 15-11 lead. As Utah State took their first timeout of the set, they were hitting at just .089 percent compared to the Gaels .298. After the break, the Aggies came back within a point of SMC before tying the set at 18-18. The teams traded points before an ace from sophomore Chandler Cowell forced Utah State to take another timeout with Saint Mary's up 22-20. Sophomore Breyan Ashley earned her ninth kill of the night on set point and gave the Gaels a 25-23 win in set two.

• SET THREE | Utah State began the third set with a 9-2 lead over Saint Mary's which included an 8-0 run. The two teams began trading points again, however the Gaels remained just behind the Aggies for most of the set. However, SMC then went on a 6-0 run to tie up the set at 17-17 before then extending their run and taking their first lead of the set. The teams remained tight until the end, but it was ultimately Saint Mary's who took the 25-21 win following a block from Alexsa "Crash" Parker and Aubrey Pitts to seal the deal.

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM

Freshman Elena Baka and sophomore Breyan Ashley were both named to the all-tournament team following a stellar defensive weekend. Baka recorded a total of 31 kills during the tournament and collected a new career-high 17 during the match against Cornell on Friday. She also nabbed five blocks. Ashley was also a dominant for the Gaels as she recorded 26 kills and a total of three blocks. She also collected six service aces in the tournament, three in each game.

QUOTABLES

"We did a good job of executing tonight and on every point we meant business," said Ashley. "We knew we had to stay focused and we did that. We'll take these wins with us as we go into next week, and continue learning from our mistakes."

"We are still developing as a team and wins like this are critical to our success," said head coach Rob Browning.  We are forcing them to be uncomfortable so that they learn and I had a ton of confidence that we were going to be fine. They proved that they could stay calm under pressure and that they can play consistently at a high level. We look forward to playing Cal next week and it'll be fun playing them both away and at home."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 9: Number of aces for Saint Mary's against Utah State, Ashley led the team with three
• 7: Kills for Pitts on Saturday night, just two shy of her season-high
• 24: Combined number of kills for Ashley and Baka versus the Aggies

UP NEXT

Saint Mary's will make the short trip over to Berkeley on Thursday to play California at 7:00 p.m. before returning to Moraga on Saturday to face the Bears on their own court.

#GaelsRise – For ticket information to all home volleyball matches, call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689 or click the ticket link here to purchase your seats now.