PORTLAND, Ore. — Saturday afternoon at Portland wrapped up a busy week of three-consecutive WCC matches for Saint Mary's Volleyball. After going five sets on Tuesday and four sets on Thursday, the Gaels needed to go the distance one more time to get the job done, but they pulled it out in thrilling fashion. Behind a historic performance from the service line, something that has never been accomplished, the Gaels won with finals of 25-10, 21-25, 25-15, 20-25, and 15-12. With the win, SMC finds themselves with a record of 8-6 (2-3) while Portland falls to 4-9 (1-3).
 
HISTORY AT THE LINE
It doesn't matter if we are talking about rally scoring or side-out scoring, no Saint Mary's volleyball team has ever recorded 19 service aces in a match. That's what the Gaels did on Saturday afternoon, eclipsing their rally scoring record of 16 that was set in 2007 against Portland, and breaking the school's all-time record of 18 which was done against Hofstra in 1995. It is actively the second-most aces in a match this season in the NCAA, with only Youngstown State having more (24). Saint Mary's put up nine service aces in the first set alone, and six different Gaels had multiple aces. Alosina Thompson led the way with six, the fifth most in SMC history, while Makenna Joyce had four for the first time in her career.
 
Continuing on the theme of service aces, the Gaels had an incredible nine aces in the first set. Jennifer "Boo" Laird had back-to-back aces as part of a 4-0 run for the Gaels to begin the opening stanza, and Thompson had four of her six aces during an 8-0 run that followed shortly after. Joyce recorded back-to-back aces in the set, and Kelsey Knudsen had the ninth ace on the 20^th point.
 
SURVIVING A SCARE
Saint Mary's couldn't shake the Pilots, meaning the match came down to a fifth set. In that final set, the Pilots soared out to a 5-1 lead and had the Gaels on their heels, but they dug in and finished strong. Behind a great service run from Thompson, including her sixth and the team's 19^th ace of the match, the Gaels went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead, and they would not surrender the lead again. The Gaels block began to pick up, with Selbie Christensen and Laird recording multiple block assists during the set. The set and match ended with Laird and Kristen Erland smashing down kills from the middle.
 
MORE THAN JUST ACES
Saint Mary's did a lot more than simply serve well on Saturday, as they were led up front by Laird and her 10 kills, without a single error, and on just 15 swings. Christensen finished with nine kills, and Hawley Harrer wound up with eight. In her first collegiate start, Ashley Reed ended up with seven kills and also tossed in seven digs and two aces. Every player that appeared on Saturday for the Gaels had at least one dig, and Trinity Durfee led the Gaels with four total blocks, including a solo stuff.
 
DURFEE DECLARES
"This was a great match for our team. It shows how deep our bench is and how anyone can come in and make a difference. Our team culture is very strong and has helped to push through in these matches." – Trinity Durfee
 
BROWNING BITES
"We obviously served well today, hitting our targets with a lot of good serves. Hawley, Boo, and Selbie carried a big offensive load for us. Overall, it was a good, balanced showing by our team." – head coach, Rob Browning
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will get a chance to breathe for a moment with just two matches on tap weekend, beginning a stretch of two weeks in a row at home. The Gaels will welcome in LMU on Thursday night at 7:00 pm before hosting #23 Pepperdine on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm. Saint Mary's will not leave the state again this fall, and won't have to fly again until November.