MORAGA, Calif. — Saturday afternoon marked the end of volleyball in the month of October for Saint Mary's, and they continued to close out the month in style. Winners of four-straight heading into the match, the Gaels were able to sweep their way past the Gonzaga Bulldogs in straight sets, with finals of 25-20, 25-11, and 25-20. The win gives the Gaels their fifth-straight in WCC play, their longest since the 2011 season. SMC is now 13-8 (7-5) while Gonzaga is 7-16 (3-9).
 
EFFICIENT ATTACKING
Few rallies seemed to linger on Saturday afternoon, and that's because the Gaels were making the most of their swings. They had 39 kills on just 84 attacks, leading to a 46.4% kill percentage and a 32.1% hitting percentage, some of their best totals of the season. Saint Mary's could do no wrong early on, with hitting percentages of 38.5% and 48% in the first two sets, and they had a real chance at finishing the afternoon with their best mark of the season. Hawley Harrer was a model of efficiency with her swings, recording a team-best 10 kills with just one error on 16 swings.
 
TURNING THE TIDE
Gonzaga looked like they had a chance to win the first set, holding onto a 16-12 lead. Saint Mary's kicked it into high gear at that point, winning nine of the next 10 points to pull ahead with a 21-17 advantage. Ella Sandt was back serving up the first portion of that run and Elena Baka closed it out. Four errors in a row from Gonzaga aided the Gaels effort, but Jennifer "Boo" Laird got it start with a kill and a solo block. That began a mega-run that spanned the length of the second set where the Gaels outscored Gonzaga 38-15.
 
WELL-TIMED
Gonzaga began to make some noise in the third set, leading 9-5 early over the Gaels before head coach Rob Browning called a timeout. Whatever he said in the huddle worked, as Saint Mary's came out winning the next six points with Chandler Cowell serving. Cowell had two kills during the run, and suddenly the Gaels pulled in front for the first time during the set. That's when the aces started to settle in, as Laird went back to the line with an 18-14 lead and rattled off three aces in a four-point span, tying a season-best in aces all in that short of a span. The Gaels survived a late push from Gonzaga to close out the sweep.
 
ELENA EXPLAINS
"Today we showed up and gave it our all. We fought point by point and got the job done just like we know we are capable of doing. I am very proud of our team. It felt amazing playing out there today and I can't wait for our next match." – Elena Baka
 
LAIRD DECLARES
"Coming off a disappointing loss the last time we faced this team, I am incredibly proud of how we responded. We had a standout match with our serving and defense, but our biggest improvement from last time was our consistency. We were far from perfect but we played steady the entire time, which kept us in control throughout the match." – Jennifer "Boo" Laird
 
BROWNING BITES
"This was one of our better matches for sure. We played clean from beginning to end. Gonzaga is a much better team than their record indicates. They are well-coached and have some powerful attackers, but we were able to control things with our serving and passing, and Ella Sandt and Alosina Thompson did a great job running the offense. A good step forward for our team." – head coach, Rob Browning
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will put their season-long winning streak to the test on the road next week as they take on a pair of teams they lost to at home in October. The last losses for Saint Mary's came against a ranked Pepperdine team and LMU, and those are the two teams they will square off with. SMC travels to Malibu to take on the Waves Thursday night at 7:00 pm to begin the road trip.
 
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